Frequency of genital infection with chlamydia trachomatis and other microorganisms in two groups of women in Cartagena, Colombia

Abstract

Diseases associated with Infection with C. trachomatis and the bacterial vaginosis syndrome are Important In sexually active women. In order to establish their frequency In Cartagena, Colombia, we studied 431 women who attended the gynecological service of a University Hospital (167 women) and a municipal venereologlcal center (264 women), between may 1988 and may 1990; average age was 28 years. C. trachomatis was searched by an ELISA test and the resulting frequencies ofinfection were: 5.4% in the gynecological patients and 17.4% in the venereological ones (p < 0.005). Concerning other microorganisms the respective rates of infection were (all dlfferences non significant): Gardnerella vaginalis 33.5 and 39%, Neisseria gonorrhoeae 0.6 and 2.3%, Trichomonas vaginalis 5.4 and 4.5%, Candida spp. 13.2 and 10.2%. We found a relationship between positivity rate for C. trachomatis and some entitles usually associated with it, nameIy: within the venereological group the frequency of cervicitis was 39% in the infected patients and 11.5% In the non-Infected ones (p < 0.01 ); within the gynecological patients there was a pelvic inflamatory disease In four of the nine infected women (44.4%) and in only 11 of 158 non-infected ones (7%) (Fisher test p = 0.004). Oral contraception was significantly associated (p < 0.01) with C trachomatis infection in the venereological patients but not in the gynecological ones; in the former group 28.8% of the users and none of the non- users were infected with this bacteria. Gardnerella vaginalis was the bacteria most frequently found in patients with bacterial vaginosis and the proportion was similar in both groups of patients.