title: High frequency of latent Chlamydia trachomatis infection in patients with rhegmatogenous retinal detachment.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the frequency of detection of ocular and extraocular Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) infection in non-high myopes with rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD).
  
  
  METHODS
  This was a single-center, nonrandomized, prospective, case-control study. One hundred and four patients were divided into a study group with RRD (n=63) and a control group with traumatic retinal detachment (n=41). Samples of subretinal fluid (SFR), conjunctival, urethral/cervical swabs, and blood were collected. The frequency of detection of CT infection in SRF samples was determined by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), direct fluorescence assay (DFA) and cell culture, whereas that in conjunctival swabs was determined by PCR and DFA, and those in urethral/cervical swabs and blood were determined by DFA. Yates Chi-square test (with Bonferroni correction) and two-tailed Student's t-test were used for statistical analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  SRF CT infection was detected more frequently in the study group (50.8%-71.4%) than in the control group (9.8%-12.2%) by all the methods used (P<0.01). The frequency of detection of conjunctival CT infection by DFA was higher in the RRD patients compared with the controls (81.0% vs 24.4%, P=0.004). The PCR detected conjunctival CT infection more often in the study group than in the controls (46.0% vs 9.8%, P=0.007). The DFA detected CT in blood specimens almost as frequently as in urogenital specimens, for the RRD patients (61.2% vs 63.5%) and the controls (7.3% vs 9.8%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  CT infection is detected with high frequency in non-high myopes with RRD.
authors.affiliation: St. Petersburg Branch of the Academician S. Fyodorov IRTC "Eye Microsurgery", St. Petersburg 192283, Russia; Department of Ophthalmology, Military Medical Academy, St. Petersburg 194044, Russia.
authors.forename: Ernest V
authors.initials: EV
authors.lastname: Boiko
authors.affiliation: St. Petersburg Branch of the Academician S. Fyodorov IRTC "Eye Microsurgery", St. Petersburg 192283, Russia.
authors.forename: Alexei L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Pozniak
authors.affiliation: St. Petersburg Branch of the Academician S. Fyodorov IRTC "Eye Microsurgery", St. Petersburg 192283, Russia.
authors.forename: Dmitrii S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Maltsev
authors.affiliation: St. Petersburg Branch of the Academician S. Fyodorov IRTC "Eye Microsurgery", St. Petersburg 192283, Russia.
authors.forename: Alexei A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Suetov
authors.affiliation: St. Petersburg Branch of the Academician S. Fyodorov IRTC "Eye Microsurgery", St. Petersburg 192283, Russia.
authors.forename: Irina V
authors.initials: IV
authors.lastname: Nuralova
keywords: Chlamydia trachomatis; latent infection; myopia; rhegmatogenous retinal detachment