Detection of antigonococcal IgA in cervical secretions by indirect immunofluorescence: an evaluation as a diagnostic test.

Using an indirect immunofluorescent-antibody method, antigonococcal IgA was detected in the cervical secretions of 56 (72%) of 78 women with untreated gonorrhoea but in only 25 (5%) of 490 non-infected women. The low sensitivity--comparable to that of Gram-stain microscopy--the expense, and the laboriousness of the test militate against its use as a routine diagnostic procedure.