Should all sexually active young women in Hungary be screened for Chlamydia trachomatis?

OBJECTIVE

Cost-effectiveness analysis was carried out to develop screening strategy for Chlamydia trachomatis to assess the possibility of preventing pelvic inflammatory disease and its sequelae.

STUDY DESIGN

An 18 months epidemiological study of prevalence of chlamydial infection among pregnant women was carried out in Hungary.

RESULTS

The policy of testing and treating was less cost-effective than neither testing nor treating, unless the cost of the diagnostic test were less than or equal to US$ 10, or the prevalence of infection in women were greater than 8.3.

CONCLUSIONS

Since the prevalence of chlamydial infection amongst 15-24 years old women in this study was 8.0%, the cost of screening in Hungary only barely outweighs the benefit in economic terms. Given the undesirable potential consequences of the infection, it is thus recommended that Hungarian clinicians should screen all young, sexually active women for C. trachomatis at the same time as they perform routine pelvic examinations.