Chlamydia Test with Rapid Detection Launched
The Chlamydia Rapid Test (CRT) provides results to clinicians within 30 minutes of assessment. News about the new testing approach was described on Clinical Lab Products. Clinicians from the University of Cambridge also described the test approach in their report, published in the British Medical Journal.
The Cambridge team conducted a study to assess the CRT in diagnosis and screening. CRT was compared to PCR laboratory analysis and strand displacement amplification assay. Almost 1,350 women from a sexual health center in the U.K. were recruited to participate in the study.
The team assessed sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive and negative predictive values of the CRT. The CRT had a 83.5 percent rate of sensitivity and 98.9 percent specificity compared to PCR assays for chlamydia. Those were marginally lower compared to the displacement lab method.
The vaginal swabs collected by the patients had between 597 and 1 billion plasmids of Chlamydia. Almost 96 percent of the women reported a level of comfort in collecting their own specimen.
The CRT can utilize vaginal swab specimens for disease assessment, which is not licensed for use with other tests currently available. Further accelerating the convenience for patients is that they can collect their own specimens. In addition, currently available tests have lower rates of sensitivity. The CRT is both an accurate and effective approach for same-day testing of patients undergoing assessment for chlamydia.
This means of quick diagnosis and assessment allows treatment to commence quickly. This reduces the likelihood and opportunity for patients to infect other people and, further, reduces the likelihood that the infection may last longer. The team cites the opportunity to use this test in settings that are limited in resources as a future research endeavor.
December 10, 2007 Related topics: Laboratory, Product Launches, Laboratory Equipment, Diagnostic, Obstetrics, Gynecology & Neonatology