Office and Laboratory Testing for STDs: Present and Future.

This chapter is aimed at the clinician in private practice or in a small clinic setting dealing with sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) but lacking immediate access to larger laboratories. Tests that should be routinely available for patients with STDs are described. Some of these tests may be performed on site, whereas others must be sent out to appropriate laboratories. Among the tests described are Gram stain testing, culture of Neisseria gonorrhoeae, darkfield examination, as well as testing for Chlamydia trachomatis, herpes simplex virus, chancroid, and syphilis.