A New Diagnostic Tool for Gonorrhea?

In preliminary studies, a novel point-of-care assay for detecting Neisseria gonorrhoeae accurately identified the infection in 96.5% of symptomatic men and 95.5% of symptomatic women.

Management of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in resource-poor settings relies on syndromic diagnosis — for gonorrhea, urethral discharge in men and vaginal discharge in women. An accurate, low-cost diagnostic test would improve the management of the infection and reduce unnecessary use of antibiotics. To assess the performance of a lateral flow (LF) assay that provides a result from a urine sample (in men) and a vaginal swab sample (in women) within 30 minutes, investigators tested 200 men presenting with urethral discharge and 200 women with vaginal discharge at primary care clinics in South Africa. The gold standard for comparison was the Xpert CT/NG PCR assay, which detected N. gonorrhoeae in 64% of men and 18% of women who were …

Reviewing Author

Anna Wald, MD, MPH

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardAicuris; Bayer; GSK; Innovative Molecules; Merck; MAPP Biopharmaceutical (Safety Monitoring Committee)

RoyaltiesUpToDate

Grant/Research SupportNIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases; GSK; Moderna; Assembly Biomedical; Aicuris

Editorial BoardsSexually Transmitted Diseases; Sexually Transmitted Infections; Journal of Infectious Diseases

Leadership PositionsID Division Chiefs Community of Practice (At-Large Member)