Comparison of the Becton Dickinson strand displacement amplification and Cobas Amplicor Roche PCR for the detection of Chlamydia trachomatis: pooling versus individual tests

Clin Microbiol Infect. 2003 Oct;9(10):1020-3. doi: 10.1046/j.1469-0691.2003.00738.x.

Abstract

The objective of the study was to examine the influence of pooling Chlamydia trachomatis specimens. We compared Becton Dickinson ProbeTec strand displacement amplification (SDA) with Cobas Amplicor Roche (PCR). With PCR as the standard, SDA performed equally well in single-sample testing. For pooled PCR samples (compared to individual PCR), we found a sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 98.9%. For pooled SDA tests (compared to individual SDA), we found a sensitivity of 86.5% and a specificity of 98.9%. Our conclusion is that 2-sucrose phosphate buffer (2-SP) can be used for individual SDA testing. A reduced sensitivity was found for pooled SDA samples, and we cannot recommend that SDA be used for pooling with 2-SP. Further pooling studies with other transport media are warranted.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Chlamydia Infections / diagnosis*
  • Chlamydia trachomatis / genetics
  • Chlamydia trachomatis / isolation & purification*
  • DNA, Bacterial / chemistry
  • DNA, Bacterial / genetics
  • False Negative Reactions
  • False Positive Reactions
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Polymerase Chain Reaction / methods*
  • Predictive Value of Tests
  • Reagent Kits, Diagnostic / standards
  • Sensitivity and Specificity

Substances

  • DNA, Bacterial
  • Reagent Kits, Diagnostic