Abstract
Paired first-voided urine and urethral swab specimens were collected from 540 men attending sexually transmitted disease clinics in three geographic locations. Urine specimens were tested for the presence of Chlamydia trachomatis by commercial enzyme immunoassay (Chlamydiazyme), and the results were compared with those of urethral swab cultures. Overall prevalence of urethral C. trachomatis by culture was 14%, and the Chlamydiazyme assay had an overall sensitivity of 83%, a specificity of 96%, a positive predictive value of 76%, and a negative predictive value of 97%. Sensitivity was greater (94%) in those culture-positive samples with a high antigen load (> or = 20 inclusion-forming units per coverslip) than those with a lower antigen load (68%). Assay of urine specimens from men attending sexually transmitted disease clinics by Chlamydiazyme appears to be a reliable, noninvasive method of detection of C. trachomatis infection, and further evaluation of its performance in asymptomatic and low-prevalence populations is indicated.