Molecular Diagnosis of Sexually Transmitted Chlamydia trachomatis in the United States

Table 2

Performance characteristics of three commercially-available Chlamydia trachomatis molecular screening platforms per manufacturer-provided data. Ranges reflect differences in performance characteristics between specimens collected from symptomatic and asymptomatic individuals (when specified).

Commercial assay	Gender	Specimen	Performance indices
			Sensitivity range (%)	Specificity range (%)
AMPLICOR	Female	Endocervical	87.4–94.0	98.6
		Urine	84.3–89.5	98.0–98.8
	Male	Urethral	96.3–98.7	95.2–97.7
		Urine	87.6–92.0	91.9–95.7
BD ProbeTec ET	Female	Endocervical	88.7–96.8	97.9–98.5
		Urine	77.0–83.9	98.2–98.3
	Male	Urethral	89.5–95.5	92.9–97.0
		Urine	89.5–95.4	89.4–95.8
APTIMA Combo 2^†	Female	Endocervical	92.4–98.4	96.7–98.8
		Urine	93.8–96.8	98.8–99.0
	Male	Urethral	94.6–96.4	96.9–98.4
		Urine	96.3–98.5	98.4–98.8

^†APTIMA Combo 2 clinician-collected vaginal swab sensitivity range 96.5–96.7%, specificity range 96.4–97.2%; APTIMA Combo 2 patient-collected vaginal swab sensitivity 98.4%, specificity 96.8%.