Abstract
In a retrospective study of 2581 microbiologically confirmed female cases of gonorrhoea seen in STD clinics in England and Wales 96% of infections were detected by the first set of Gram-stained smears and cultures. A comparison of the outcome of the two tests between clinics according to their size and location showed considerable variation. The reasons for these disparities are analysed and physicians advised to re-examine their present methods in the light of these findings and newer techniques.