title: Comparative evaluation of chlamydiazyme, PACE 2, and AMP-CT assays for detection of Chlamydia trachomatis in endocervical specimens.
abstract: We conducted a comparative evaluation of the Chlamydiazyme (Abbott Laboratories), PACE 2 (Gen-Probe), and AMP-CT (Gen-Probe) assays for the detection of Chlamydia trachomatis in endocervical samples. Specimens from 787 females were included in the study. The sensitivities of the PACE 2 and Chlamydiazyme assays in comparison to the results of the AMP-CT assay were 79.3 and 63.4%, respectively. The specificities of the Chlamydiazyme and PACE 2 assays were 100%. All of the positive specimens detected in this study were positive by the AMP-CT assay. On the basis of the final results of the comparison, the prevalence of C. trachomatis in the population was 10.4%. Retesting of specimens whose results were in the intermediate zone by the PACE 2 assay by a probe competition assay identified some additional true-positive specimens. Amplification assay testing of such specimens did not significantly increase the yield. The majority of specimens which tested positive by the AMP-CT assay only were not in the intermediate zone by the PACE 2 assay. We were unable to identify demographic or clinical factors which could predict those individuals who tested positive by amplified tests but not by nonamplified tests. The Gen-Probe PACE 2 assay proved to be superior to the Chlamydiazyme assay for the screening and diagnosis of C. trachomatis infections in female endocervical specimens.
authors.affiliation: Cadham Provincial Laboratory, Department of Medical Microbiology, University of Manitoba, Canada. jwylie@mb.sympatico.ca
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Wylie
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Moses
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Babcock
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jolly
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Giercke
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Hammond
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial / Q000097:blood; D002584:Cervix Uteri / Q000382:microbiology*; D002692:Chlamydia trachomatis / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D012329:RNA, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis; D012335:RNA, Ribosomal / Q000032:analysis; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
chemical_list: D000942:Antigens, Bacterial; D012329:RNA, Bacterial; D012335:RNA, Ribosomal