title: Urinary screening for Neisseria gonorrhoeae in asymptomatic individuals from Queensland, Australia: an evaluation using three nucleic acid amplification methods.
abstract: A comparison between three nucleic acid amplification methods (COBAS AMPLICOR NG, Abbott LCx NG and in-house cppB gene PCR) for the detection of Neisseria gonorrhoeae was undertaken using non-consecutive urine specimens collected from a high prevalence asymptomatic population (260 patients) from multiple sites in Queensland, Australia. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value were as follows: COBAS 97.9, 93.9, 78.0, 99.5%; LCx 95.7, 100, 100, 99.1%; cppB 97.9, 100, 100, 99.5%. The results provide further evidence that false-positive COBAS AMPLICOR NG PCR results are a significant problem in our population, and that the Abbott NG LCx is a suitable alternative for screening asymptomatic populations with a high prevalence of N. gonorrhoeae carriage.
authors.affiliation: Queensland Health Pathology Service, Toowoomba, Australia. D.Farrell@grmicro.co.uk
authors.forename: D J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Farrell
authors.forename: T J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Sheedy
mesh_terms: D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis; D005189:False Positive Reactions; D006069:Gonorrhea / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000652:urine*; D006801:Humans; D008403:Mass Screening; D009344:Neisseria gonorrhoeae / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011793:Queensland / Q000453:epidemiology; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial