TY - JOUR
T1 - Increased sensitivity of DNA amplification testing for the detection of pharyngeal gonorrhea in men who have sex with men
AU - Page-Shafer, Kimberly
AU - Graves, Alison
AU - Kent, Charlotte
AU - Balls, Joyce E.
AU - Zapitz, V. M.
AU - Klausner, Jeffrey D.
N1 - Funding Information:
Financial support: National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (grant 1 R01 DE12911-01 [to K.P.-S.]).
PY - 2002/1/15
Y1 - 2002/1/15
N2 - We compared ligase chain reaction (LCR) assay with standard culture for the detection of pharyngeal Neisseria gonorrhoeae infection in men who have sex with men (MSM) presenting at a sexually transmitted diseases clinic in San Francisco. Pharyngeal specimens were obtained from 200 MSM who reported performing fellatio during the previous 2 weeks. Confirmatory testing of discrepant specimens was conducted using N. gonorrhoeae pilin proteins. Prevalence of pharyngeal N. gonorrhoeae was 6% by culture or 11% by LCR. The sensitivity and specificity of LCR were 94.7% and 97.8%, respectively, compared with values of 47.4% and 100% for culture. Prevalence of pharyngeal N. gonorrhoeae infection, as determined by DNA amplification testing, was higher than that suggested by traditional culture. Results support the use of DNA amplification testing in the oropharynx. The high prevalence of pharyngeal N. gonorrhoeae infection among MSM suggests that routine screening should be considered in efforts to reduce the burden of gonorrhea in this population.
AB - We compared ligase chain reaction (LCR) assay with standard culture for the detection of pharyngeal Neisseria gonorrhoeae infection in men who have sex with men (MSM) presenting at a sexually transmitted diseases clinic in San Francisco. Pharyngeal specimens were obtained from 200 MSM who reported performing fellatio during the previous 2 weeks. Confirmatory testing of discrepant specimens was conducted using N. gonorrhoeae pilin proteins. Prevalence of pharyngeal N. gonorrhoeae was 6% by culture or 11% by LCR. The sensitivity and specificity of LCR were 94.7% and 97.8%, respectively, compared with values of 47.4% and 100% for culture. Prevalence of pharyngeal N. gonorrhoeae infection, as determined by DNA amplification testing, was higher than that suggested by traditional culture. Results support the use of DNA amplification testing in the oropharynx. The high prevalence of pharyngeal N. gonorrhoeae infection among MSM suggests that routine screening should be considered in efforts to reduce the burden of gonorrhea in this population.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0037079880&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1086/338236
DO - 10.1086/338236
M3 - Article
C2 - 11740704
AN - SCOPUS:0037079880
SN - 1058-4838
VL - 34
SP - 173
EP - 176
JO - Clinical Infectious Diseases
JF - Clinical Infectious Diseases
IS - 2
ER -