Evaluation of an indirect immunofluorescence assay for detecting Chlamydia trachomatis as a method for diagnosing tubal factor infertility in Mexican women.

UNLABELLED: To evaluate the clinical impact of the use of an indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA) against Chlamydia as a method to identify patients with tubal factor infertility (TFI) in a population of infertile Mexican women.

METHODS

This was a retrospective analysis made on 100 patients attending the infertility clinic who underwent laparoscopy. Blood and cervical samples were collected during the clinical examination. The presence of anti-Chlamydia trachomatis IgG antibodies was documented using the IFA test, and the presence of active chlamydial infection was evaluated using the nucleic acid hybridization assay.

RESULTS

The sensitivity and specificity values of the IFA test to identify patients with periadnexal adhesions were 45% and 82%, respectively; and the positive predictive and negative predictive values were 42% and 84%, and the positive and negative likelihood ratios were 2.5 and 0.7, respectively.

CONCLUSION

The IFA test was not usable for the identification of patients with periadnexal adhesions as a cause of infertility in this population. However, it could be useful as a screening test to decide which patients might receive laparoscopic treatment. Furthermore, it could be useful for identifying patients with active chlamydial infections in the upper genital tract, but a study with a larger sample needs to be done.