Evaluation of a chemiluminometric immunoassay and a direct immunofluorescence test for detecting Chlamydia trachomatis in urogenital specimens.

A new chemiluminometric immunoassay (Magic Lite) and a direct immunofluorescence technique (MicroTrak) were compared with cell culture in the diagnosis of Chlamydia trachomatis infections. Both assays were evaluated using 260 genital specimens (89 men, 171 women), 26 of which were culture positive. The respective sensitivity of the chemiluminometric immunoassay and immunofluorescence technique was 88.5% and 84.6%, the specificity 97% and 99.6%, the positive predictive value 76.7% and 95.6%, and the negative predictive value 98.7% and 98.3%. Both methods could serve as an alternative to culture in the diagnosis of urogenital chlamydial infections.