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Clinicians usually diagnose chlamydia and gonorrhea infections with speculum-obtained samples. However, many women prefer to obtain their own vulvovaginal swabs, and evidence suggests that this method yields accurate results. In this prospective study of 3900 women (mean age, 25), U.K. investigators compared self-taken vulvovaginal swabs with clinician-obtained endocervical swabs for detecting chlamydia and gonorrhea. Both vulvovaginal and endocervical swabs were tested with the Gen-Probe Aptima Combo-2 assay (a nucleic acid amplification test [NAAT] for chlamydia and gonorrhea), and positive results were confirmed with a second NAAT. In addition, endocervical swabs were sent for gonorrhea culture.
Patients were considered infected if either…