Screening for Chlamydia trachomatis among Infertile Women Using PCR Method

Background & objectives: Chlamydia trachomatis is a gram negative bacterium and chlamydia infection, as a curable infection, is one of the most common sexually transmitted diseases (STD). With regard to the essential role of chlamydia in infertility, the study of the prevalence of asymptomatic cases is precious. The aim of this study was to determine of the prevalence of chlamydia trachomatis in endocervical samples in infertile women with PCR method. In this cross sectional descriptive-analytical study, a total of 135 women between 20-40 years old with chief complaint of infertility that referred to Alzahra-Rasht hospital and private clinics were randomly selected. The endocervical specimen was prepared using a sterile swab and was transferred to the laboratory in PBS for performing PCR. . The results of PCR and collected data from checklists were statistically analyzed using SPSS16. Chlamydia trachomatis was detected in 19.3% of infertile women. There were no statistically significant differences between PCR results and the patient's age, type of infertility, obstruction in salpingography, family history and duration of infertility. The results of this study revealed that chlamydia infection has a high prevalence and in order to reduce the complications of this disease, screening tests can be used as a part of the country's health programs.