[When in pregnancy should screening for Chlamydia be carried out?]

Abstract

One goal of every prenatal care should be the diagnosis of a cervical infection with Chlamydia trachomatis and the prevention of its transmission to the neonate. Therefore, we studied the questions (1) at which gestational age a screening would be most meaningful and (2) whether the woman's medical history, a vaginal smear or cervical cerclage suggests any risk of infection. 11 of 121 pregnant women (9.1%) had a positive test for cervical infection with Chlamydia trachomatis at their booking visit. More than half of them had a spontaneous remission at the follow-up visit. Practically, all newborns to infected mothers (at follow-up visits) had a positive test as well. We did not find any relationship between the medical history, vaginal smear or cervical cerclage and the incidence of Chlamydia trachomatis infection. In conclusion, we propose a screening for Chlamydia trachomatis infection of all pregnant women between the 34th and 38th week of gestation and treatment of infected individuals with erythromycin (4 x 500 mg t.i.d.).