[The role of Chlamydia trachomatis in the infectious etiology of extra-uterine pregnancy].

The study was carried out in two different hospital centres on a series of 55 women who had ectopic pregnancies compared with 2 control groups. The study concerned taking samples from cells in the pelvis to culture for Chlamydia trachomatis and to estimate the levels of anti-Chlamydia antibodies. The cultures were positive in 30% of the cases and the serology was positive in 52% of the cases. This difference is significant when compared with the control groups (p less than 0.001). There was no significant statistical difference as far as positive cultures were concerned between the groups of women who had or had not had previous tubal infertility or a history of salpingitis. It seems that Chlamydia trachomatis can itself therefore be a direct cause for the development of an ectopic pregnancy.