[A pseudo-outbreak of pharyngeal gonorrhoea related to a false-positive PCR-result].
Nucleic acid amplification tests, including the polymerase chain reaction (PCR), are sensitive and specific tests that are often used for diagnosing sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). A pseudo-outbreak of pharyngeal gonorrhoea in a group of prostitutes turned out to have been caused by false-positive test results due to commensal oropharyngeal Neisseria species. Specific molecular tests may yield erroneous results. When the results of an STD study have major consequences at a legal or social level, it is advisable, in consultation with a medical microbiologist, to take a sample for culture or to carry out a second molecular test aimed at a different part of the bacterial genome.
Verzijl
A
A
Catharina-ziekenhuis, afd. Dermatologie, Michelangelolaan 2, 5623 EJ Eindhoven. annette.verzijl@cze.n
Berretty
P J M
PJ
Erceg
A
A
Krekels
G A M
GA
Van den Brule
A J C
AJ
Boel
C H E
CH
D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D005189:False Positive Reactions; D005260:Female; D006069:Gonorrhea / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D009344:Neisseria gonorrhoeae / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D021141:Nucleic Acid Amplification Techniques; D010608:Pharyngeal Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D011477:Sex Work