Abstract:

Introduction: Worldwide, Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) is the most common bacterial sexually transmitted infection (STI), with approximately 105.7 million new infections occurring annually. Untreated CT can lead to serious reproductive sequelae for women, including pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), tubal factor infertility, ectopic pregnancy, and an increased risk of acquiring other STIs. Hence, this study was planned to evaluate the burden of chlamydial cervicitis among women of reproductive age group attending a tertiary care centre of Bihar. Methodology: All women of reproductive age group Gynecology Outpatient Clinic at the Darbhanga Medical College and Hospital, Laheriasri, Bihar, India from January 2021 to December 2021 were included in the study. A total of 100 patients were eligible for enrolment. Ethical Committee approval for study protocol and written informed patient consents were taken for this study. Three Dacron-tipped endocervical swabs from patients. The first swab was transported to the laboratory in 0.2 M sucrose phosphate buffer chlamydial transport medium for C. trachomatis PCR assays. Two swabs were placed in two screw cap test tubes containing 2 ml pleuropneumonia-like organism (PPLO) broth for detection of Ureaplasma spp. and M. hominis. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS ver. 21.0 (IBM, Chicago). Results: C. trachomatis was detected in 17% of patients with urogenital infections. C. trachomatis infection was significantly associated with vaginal discharge, abdominal pain, low back pain, burning micturition and dyspareunia. Of all samples collected, 61 showed positive growth. Apart from 17 C. trachomatis positive samples, 20 were positive for Ureaplasma spp., 11 for M. hominis, 2 for N. gonorrhoeae, 1 for T. pallidum and 2 were HIV seropositive. Co-infection with Ureaplasma and M. hominis was detected in 8% of patients by PCR. Conclusion: Screening for C. trachomatis isolates could be useful for epidemiological characterization of circulating C. trachomatis strains in the community and could provide additional information for vaccine development.

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