Schachter J
UCSF Chlamydia Research Lab, SF General Hospital, 1001 Potrero Avenue, Bdg 30 Rm 416, San Francisco, CA 94110, USA.
Expert Rev Mol Diagn. 2001 Jul;1(2):137-44. doi: 10.1586/14737159.1.2.137.
Nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs) have created a revolution in our ability to diagnose chlamydial infections. They are markedly more sensitive (while maintaining exquisite specificity) than previously used tests. They can be used with noninvasively collected specimens (first-catch urine for men or women and vaginal swabs from women). This allows their use in screening asymptomatic individuals who represent the bulk of prevalent infections. Mishandling of urine specimens can lead to false-negative results and few are aware of that potential for getting incorrect results. The leading deterrent to the acceptance of NAATs has been their perceived cost. This is based on the purchase price of tests and fails to consider the total cost of testing, which also includes costs of specimen collection, where NAATs have a major advantage.
核酸扩增检测（NAATs）在衣原体感染诊断能力方面引发了一场革命。与此前使用的检测方法相比，它们的灵敏度显著更高（同时保持极高的特异性）。它们可用于非侵入性采集的标本（男性或女性的首次晨尿以及女性的阴道拭子）。这使得它们能够用于筛查无症状个体，而这些个体是普遍感染的主要群体。尿液标本处理不当会导致假阴性结果，很少有人意识到获得错误结果的这种可能性。NAATs被接受的主要阻碍一直是其被认为的成本。这是基于检测的购买价格，而没有考虑检测的总成本，其中还包括标本采集成本，在这方面NAATs具有重大优势。
