Culture versus direct specimen test: comparative study of infections with Chlamydia trachomatis in Viennese prostitutes.

To evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of the direct specimen test with monoclonal antibody conjugated with fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC), cervical smears from 700 Viennese prostitutes were investigated by immunofluorescence microscopy and compared with the results of cultures for Chlamydia trachomatis in McCoy cells. Inclusion bodies in cell culture and elementary bodies on the smear slide were counted and evaluated in four categories. Cultures were obtained from 12.6% (88) of all women investigated, whereas the direct specimen test gave positive results in 10.4% (73). The results indicate that in asymptomatic people with only few inclusion bodies and latent infections, culture on McCoy cells is the more adequate method of identifying Chlamydia trachomatis.