| How likely is environmental or patient cross-contamination of Chlamydia trachomatis DNA to lead to false positive results in patients attending our clinic? | |
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MedLine Citation:
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PMID: 23038711 Owner: NLM Status: Publisher |
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
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OBJECTIVES: Environmental contamination with DNA from Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) has previously been found in Genitourinary Medicine (GUM) clinics. There are no known cases of cross-contamination of clinical samples and no known nosocomial infections. We investigated whether diagnostic samples could become contaminated from the environment by running dummy sample and carrying out a patient-throughput analysis. A total of 29 748 patients attended clinics over a year. Of these, 2860 (9.6%) had a positive Chlamydia test result. METHOD: (1) A run of dummy samples (60 urine samples and 10 swabs) were processed as normal clinic specimens. (2) Patient-throughput analysis: Patient numbers attending the GUM clinic on a given day was categorised as low, moderate or high. χ(2) Tests were used to look for associations between categorical variables and Chlamydia test positivity. A Poisson regression model was fitted to look at the effect of the number of people in the clinic on the number of positive results in a given day. As some clinics were only run on certain days of the week, a sensitivity analysis was later performed with attendances at non-daily clinics removed. RESULTS: All dummy samples tested negative and we did not find evidence of an association between daily Chlamydia positivity and clinic attendance. CONCLUSIONS: It is unlikely that environmental or cross-contamination of CT has lead to significant numbers of false positive results. Laboratories check for possible cross-contamination routinely. The extension of this simple routine practice to all clinical areas could provide quality assurance, improving confidence in the results in clinics. |
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Authors:
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Sum Yee Chan; Sophie Jose; Rebecca King; Mark R Pakianathan; Caroline Sabin; S Tariq Sadiq; Phillip E Hay; Tim Planche |
Publication Detail:
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Type: JOURNAL ARTICLE Date: 2012-10-4 |
Journal Detail:
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Title: Sexually transmitted infections Volume: - ISSN: 1472-3263 ISO Abbreviation: Sex Transm Infect Publication Date: 2012 Oct |
Date Detail:
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Created Date: 2012-10-5 Completed Date: - Revised Date: - |
Medline Journal Info:
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Nlm Unique ID: 9805554 Medline TA: Sex Transm Infect Country: - |
Other Details:
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Languages: ENG Pagination: - Citation Subset: - |
Affiliation:
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The Courtyard Clinic, St Georges Hospital, London, UK. |
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From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine
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