Skip to main content
NCBI home page
The BMJ logoLink to The BMJ
. 1991 Jan 12;302(6768):82–84. doi: 10.1136/bmj.302.6768.82

Prevalence of Chlamydia trachomatis infection in women having cervical smear tests.

J R Smith 1, J Murdoch 1, D Carrington 1, C E Frew 1, A J Dougall 1, H MacKinnon 1, D Baillie 1, D M Byford 1, C A Forrest 1, J A Davis 1
PMCID: PMC1668909  PMID: 1995120

Abstract

OBJECTIVE--To determine the prevalence of sexually transmitted diseases in patients with normal and abnormal cervical smears. DESIGN--A prospective study of asymptomatic women with normal cervical smears attending their general practitioner and newly referred patients with abnormal smears attending a colposcopy clinic. SETTING--A hospital based colposcopy clinic and an urban general practice (list size 5500) in north west Glasgow. SUBJECTS--197 asymptomatic women attending their general practitioner for cervical smear tests and 101 randomly selected patients attending the colposcopy clinic for investigation of abnormal smears. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES--Presence of various sexually transmitted infections as determined by culture and serological tests. RESULTS--Of the 101 women with cytological abnormalities, six had current chlamydial infection proved by culture and none had gonococcal infection; of the 197 women with normal smears, 24 (12%) had a chlamydial infection and two had gonorrhoea. Serological studies for Chlamydia trachomatis specific antibody also indicated that a large proportion of patients had been exposed to this agent in both groups. There was no significant difference between the groups in the prevalence of any sexually transmitted disease studied. CONCLUSION--A high prevalence of chlamydial infection is present in women in north west Glasgow irrespective of their cervical cytological state.

Full text

PDF
82

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Alberico S., Facca M. C., Di Bonito L., Millo R., Casaccia R., Mandruzzato G. P. Frequency of cervico-vaginal infections (Trichomonas vaginalis; Chlamydia trachomatis -CHL-; herpes simplex virus -HSV-; human papilloma virus -HPV-) in cervical intraepithelial neoplasia. Eur J Gynaecol Oncol. 1988;9(3):252–257. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Bowie W. R., Wang S. P., Alexander E. R., Floyd J., Forsyth P. S., Pollock H. M., Lin J. S., Buchanan T. M., Holmes K. K. Etiology of nongonococcal urethritis. Evidence for Chlamydia trachomatis and Ureaplasma urealyticum. J Clin Invest. 1977 May;59(5):735–742. doi: 10.1172/JCI108694. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Fish A. N., Fairweather D. V., Oriel J. D., Ridgway G. L. Chlamydia trachomatis infection in a gynaecology clinic population: identification of high-risk groups and the value of contact tracing. Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol. 1989 Apr;31(1):67–74. doi: 10.1016/0028-2243(89)90027-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Handsfield H. H., Jasman L. L., Roberts P. L., Hanson V. W., Kothenbeutel R. L., Stamm W. E. Criteria for selective screening for Chlamydia trachomatis infection in women attending family planning clinics. JAMA. 1986 Apr 4;255(13):1730–1734. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Hare M. J. Pelvic inflammatory disease. Br Med J (Clin Res Ed) 1986 Nov 8;293(6556):1225–1228. doi: 10.1136/bmj.293.6556.1225. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Krogh C., Van Kirk J. A study of 'routine' gonorrhea cultures in a family practice. J Fam Pract. 1987 Jun;24(6):597–600. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Longhurst H. J., Flower N., Thomas B. J., Munday P. E., Elder A., Constantinidou M., Wilton J., Taylor-Robinson D. A simple method for the detection of Chlamydia trachomatis infections in general practice. J R Coll Gen Pract. 1987 Jun;37(299):255–256. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Mills A. Therapeutic abortion and chlamydial infection. Br Med J (Clin Res Ed) 1983 May 21;286(6378):1649–1649. doi: 10.1136/bmj.286.6378.1649-a. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Ridgway G. L., Mumtaz G., Oriel J. D., Iriel J. D. Therapeutic abortion and chlamydial infection. Br Med J (Clin Res Ed) 1983 May 7;286(6376):1478–1479. doi: 10.1136/bmj.286.6376.1478-a. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Schachter J., Cles L., Ray R., Hines P. A. Failure of serology in diagnosing chlamydial infections of the female genital tract. J Clin Microbiol. 1979 Nov;10(5):647–649. doi: 10.1128/jcm.10.5.647-649.1979. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Southgate L., Treharne J., Williams R. Detection, treatment, and follow up of women with Chlamydia trachomatis infection seeking abortion in inner city general practices. BMJ. 1989 Nov 4;299(6708):1136–1137. doi: 10.1136/bmj.299.6708.1136. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Wang S. P., Grayston J. T. Human serology in Chlamydia trachomatis infection with microimmunofluorescence. J Infect Dis. 1974 Oct;130(4):388–397. doi: 10.1093/infdis/130.4.388. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Wood P. L., Hobson D., Rees E. Genital infections with Chlamydia trachomatis in women attending an antenatal clinic. Br J Obstet Gynaecol. 1984 Dec;91(12):1171–1176. doi: 10.1111/j.1471-0528.1984.tb04732.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from BMJ : British Medical Journal are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

RESOURCES