Prevalencia de infección cervical por Chlamydia trachomatis en mujeres de la Región Metropolitana Prevalence of cervical infection by Chlamydia trachomatis among Chilean women living in the Metropolitan Región

Background: Chlamydia trachomatis is the most common bacterial sexually transmitted infection (STI) worídwide. In women, chlamydia infections are 75% asymptomatic and can lead to pelvic inflammatory disease, infertility, and ectopic pregnancy. Infants exposed to the microorganism at birth also have a high risk to develop conjunctivitis and pneumonía. Aim: To determine the prevalence of C trachomatis in women in the Metropolitan área of Santiago (Chile). Patients and methods: Cervical specimens were collected from 403 women attending three gynecological outpatient settings from Apríl 2003 to June 2005. These included one public hospital (n =100), a prívate medical center (n =268), and a clinic for adolescents (n =35). Mean ages ofeach group of patients were 35.6±8,2, 33.4±8.1 and 16.9±4.2 years, respectively. The diagnosis of C trachomatis was performed by the amplification byPCRofa 517-base pair segment of the cryptic plasmid on specimens extracted by a commercial procedure. Positive specimens were con rmed by nested PCRs targeting the ompl gene. The presence of vaginal infections and its association with C trachomatis was investigated in a subset of 223 women ofthe prívate center. Residís: C trachomatis was detected in the cervix of 19 out of 403 women, resulting in a prevalence of 4.7%. The distribution of positive cases among different age groups was not significantly different. Women presenting with bacterial vaginosis had a significantly higher prevalence of C trachomatis infection (p <0.01). Conclusions: This study found a high prevalence of C trachomatis among gynecologic patients that should prompt preventive strategies.