Genital Chlamydia trachomatis infections in primary care

Chlamydia trachomatis remains one of the commonest causes of pelvic pain, infertility, and ectopic pregnancy in young women1 2 and is often asymptomatic. Genitourinary medicine clinics in Britain provide information on the prevalence of sexually transmitted disease which is used for monitoring and to set targets for disease control. Increasing recognition of C trachomatis as a genital pathogen is likely to result in patients presenting in other health care settings, including general practice. The resources to ensure resolution of infection or to trace sexual contacts who, if untreated, may reinfect the patient may not be available in the community. We conducted a study to determine the number of genital C trachomatis infections diagnosed by general practitioners in the Lothian region of Scotland and what proportion of patients were subsequently referred to the …