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Screening for Chlamydia trachomatis in pregnancy: a retrospective analysis in a German urban area

  • General Gynecology
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Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Objective

Chlamydia trachomatis infection is the most common bacterial sexual transmitted disease. Nearly 75% of all cases appear clinically unapparent and can cause, especially when getting chronically, infertility. Regarding pregnancy, a nationwide screening for C. trachomatis was established since April 1995. The aim of this study was to determine the percentage of tested patients throughout these 7 years to evaluate the execution of the German guidelines.

Materials and methods

Between 2001 and 2007, 12,865 patients were evaluated retrospectively concerning a Chlamydia trachomatis testing.

Results

A test was performed for chlamydial infection in 10,088 patients (78.4%). 65 pregnant patients (0.5%) out of 1,008 tested patients were positive for Chlamydia trachomatis. The part of tested patients was rising significantly from 2001 to 2007. In 2001, 68.3% pregnant patients were tested. The number of screened patients increased continuously up to 85.2% in 2007 (p < 0.001). The percentage of positive tested patients ranged from 0.27% in 2003 to 0.74% in 2005 (mean 0.50%).

Conclusion

Since 1995, a screening for Chlamydia trachomatis has to be offered to every pregnant woman according to the German guidelines. The number of tested pregnant patients was rising from 68.3 to 85.2% within the evaluated 7 years, which would be a necessary and welcome trend. Interestingly, the mean prevalence of 0.5% of positive tested patients in this analysed urban population seems to be very low. An explanation might be the usage of the point-of-care (POC) tests and its low sensitivity. Testing by nucleic acid amplification might lead to a higher detection rate. Although the awareness concerning Chlamydia trachomatis testing during pregnancy seems to have been changed over the recent years, these data are still dissatisfactory.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. First Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Maistrasse 11, 80337, Munich, Germany

    Tobias M. Weissenbacher, Markus S. Kupka, Franz Kainer, Klaus Friese & Ioannis Mylonas

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  1. Tobias M. Weissenbacher
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  2. Markus S. Kupka
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  3. Franz Kainer
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  4. Klaus Friese
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  5. Ioannis Mylonas
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Correspondence to Ioannis Mylonas.

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Weissenbacher, T.M., Kupka, M.S., Kainer, F. et al. Screening for Chlamydia trachomatis in pregnancy: a retrospective analysis in a German urban area. Arch Gynecol Obstet 283, 1343–1347 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00404-010-1537-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00404-010-1537-7

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