Infection with Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae in women with lower abdominal pain admitted to a gynaecology unit.

One hundred and sixty-five women admitted to a gynaecology unit with lower abdominal pain were screened for infection with Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Chlamydia trachomatis by members of a department of genitourinary medicine. C. trachomatis alone was detected in 21 patients. N. gonorrhoeae alone was isolated from five patients, and dual infection was present in six patients, giving a total of 32 (19%) patients in whom a sexually transmitted disease (STD) was diagnosed. The combination of an endocervical swab placed in Amies transport medium for gonococcal isolation and an endocervical slide for immunofluorescent detection of chlamydiae proved to be a simple and accurate method of screening for STD. As a result of contact tracing, 16 sexual partners of women in whom STD was detected were examined. Three cases of gonococcal and nine cases of non-gonococcal urethritis were diagnosed. None of the sexual partners had symptoms suggestive of genitourinary infection.