Comparing Two Methods of Detection for Chlamydia trachomatis in Liquid-Based Papanicolaou Tests.
Levi, Angelique W. MD; Beckman, Danita CT (ASCP); Hui, Pei MD, PhD; Schofield, Kevin CT (ASCP); Harigopal, Malini MD; Chhieng, David C. MD, MBA, MSHI
[Miscellaneous] American Journal of Clinical Pathology. 138(2):236-240, August 01, 2012.

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This study compared the performance of Chlamydia trachomatis testing using 2 methods: the BD ProbeTec Chlamydia trachomatis Qx Amplified DNA Assay (CTQ) on the BD Viper System with XTR technology (CTQ assay) and the Hybrid Capture (HC) 2 assay. A total of 1,054 Surepath and ThinPrep specimens were tested for C trachomatis nucleic acids using the CTQ assay and the HC2 assay. For positive and discrepant C trachomatis test results, confirmatory test for C trachomatis was performed using a reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction. Of 1,054 liquid-based gynecologic cytology samples tested for C trachomatis using both assays, 1,041 tested negative on both. In 6 (0.57%) samples, findings were discordant. The CTQ assay and the HC2 assay had sensitivity rates of 100% and 66.7%, respectively, with comparable specificity (99.9%). The positive predictive values were 92.3% and 88.9% with the CTQ and HC2 assays, respectively. In this study, the CTQ assay was found to be more sensitive than the HC2 assay in detecting chlamydial infection; the CTQ assay also demonstrated a higher positive predictive value.

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