Use of enzyme immunoassay for the rapid diagnosis of Chlamydia trachomatis endocervical infection in female adolescents.

Enzyme immunoassay (EIA) has been proposed as an alternative to tissue culture for the detection of Chlamydia trachomatis in cervical specimens. The diagnostic efficacy of EIA was compared to tissue culture in 113 teenaged females attending an adolescent reproductive health program. Infection was diagnosed by tissue culture in 16% of subjects. Compared with tissue culture, EIA demonstrated a sensitivity of 100%, specificity of 88%, positive predictive value of 62%, and a negative predictive value of 100%. These data indicate that EIA is an acceptable alternative to tissue culture when screening for C. trachomatis endocervical infection in adolescent females.