Food for thought in women's health. The gynecologist: the new European gatekeeper in Chlamydia trachomatis infection

Abstract

Genital Chlamydia trachomatis infection is the principal cause of bacterial sexually transmitted disease in industrialized countries. A wide spectrum of pathologic conditions has been associated with the disease ranging from urethritis, cervicitis, to pelvic inflammatory disease, ectopic pregnancy, tubal infertility and cervical neoplasia. Screening for genital Chlamydia infection may prevent its serious complications. The need of a comprehensive European screening policy has been recently underlined by PACMeR's scientific committee. Anyhow invitational screening programs are only at the beginning. Chlamydia trachomatis control ''orphan'' and women's health at risk. Until organized programs are developed, implementation of opportunistic screening is mandatory. Since the infection is more commonly observed among juvenile females proper testing of the young women is recommended. As asymptomatic young women in reproductive age are more eager to visit gynaecologists for periodical gynaecological examination and councelling (cervical cytology, breast examination, contraception and family planning), gynaecologist represents the only specialist able to provide early diagnosis of Chlamydia trachomatis. Gynaecologists are called to play a new role in public healthcare, being ''gatekeepers'' for the early detection of the disease, emphasizing their crucial part in young women's health.

The importance of chlamydial infections in obstetrics and gynaecology: An update

“…Female doctors are more likely than their male colleagues to test for chlamydia 88 . Asymptomatic young women of reproductive age visit gynaecologists for periodical examination and counselling (cervical cytology, breast examination, contraception and family planning) 89,90 . Consequently, these practitioners are well placed to provide primary prevention by counselling patients about safer sex practices and in secondary prevention by screening for chlamydia and other sexually transmitted infections.…”

Chlamydia trachomatis detection in cervical PreservCyt specimens from an Irish urban female population

“…Chlamydia trachomatis is the most common bacterial sexually transmitted infection (STI) worldwide with approximately 90 million cases occurring annually 1 . Chlamydia trachomatis causes a variety of disease states ranging from asymptomatic infections, cervicitis and pelvic inflammatory disease to ectopic pregnancies and tubal infertility with each successive round of infection increasing the risk of serious sequelae 2 . High‐risk human papillomavirus (HPV) infection of the cervix is necessary for the development of preneoplastic cervical lesions, which may be detected on Pap smear 3 .…”

“…1 Chlamydia trachomatis causes a variety of disease states ranging from asymptomatic infections, cervicitis and pelvic inflammatory disease to ectopic pregnancies and tubal infertility with each successive round of infection increasing the risk of serious sequelae. 2 High-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) infection of the cervix is necessary for the development of preneoplastic cervical lesions, which may be detected on Pap smear. 3 Cigarette smoking and C. trachomatis infections are now considered independent risk factors for the development of cervical cancer.…”