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The United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommends regular screening for chlamydia in all sexually active women because if left untreated, the infection is associated with PID, infertility, and chronic pelvic pain. However, in patients with anal and rectal involvement, cultures are ideal as other tests are difficult to interpret. Cultures are usually not done for chlamydia as the organism is difficult to grow in the laboratory. A pregnancy test should be done as it is a contraindication to doxycycline therapy.Ĭytology is often used in patients with conjunctivitis and ocular trachoma. The sexual partner must be tested for chlamydia. One may consider testing for HIV, gonorrhea, and syphilis. A complete blood count is essential if PID is suspected.
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When a patient presents with suspected chlamydia infection, a workup for other STDs should be carried out. If there is no testing available, treatment is recommended based on clinical presentation. Alternative methods of testing include culture, rapid testing, serology, antigen detection, and genetic probes. Other materials may inhibit Chlamydia trachomatis. Swabs should have a wire or plastic shaft the tip should be dacron or rayon or a cytobrush. Testing can also be performed on endocervical or urethral swabs. This test is run on either the vaginal swabs for women or first-catch urine for men. The gold standard for the diagnosis of urogenital chlamydia infections is nucleic acid amplification testing (NAAT). Other chlamydial infections are associated with specific clinical syndromes but require laboratory confirmation. trachomatis infections, the only trachoma is diagnosable on clinical grounds. Lymphogranuloma venereum (LGV), caused by distinct serovars of Chlamydia trachomatis, is a less common disease characterized by enlarged lymph nodes or severe proctocolitis. trachomatis may also experience conjunctivitis, pharyngitis, and lymphogranuloma venereum. In men, infection with Chlamydia trachomatis can lead to urethritis, epididymitis, prostatitis, proctitis, or reactive arthritis. Additionally, infants born vaginally to mothers infected with genital Chlamydia trachomatis may develop conjunctivitis and/or pneumonia.
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There are also risks if a woman has an infection during pregnancy. Chlamydial infections in women, especially if untreated, increase the risk of infertility and ectopic pregnancy, leading to high medical costs. This can manifest as cervicitis, urethritis, pelvic inflammatory disease, perihepatitis, or proctitis. In females, the cervix is the anatomic site that is most commonly infected. Globally, it is the most common sexually transmitted infection. It causes an ocular infection called "trachoma," which is the leading infectious cause of blindness worldwide. In the United States, it is the most commonly reported bacterial infection. Chlamydia is a sexually transmitted infectious disease caused by the bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis.
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