Identification of chlamydia in cervical smears by immunofluorescence: technic, sensitivity, and specificity.

Immunofluorescent staining was compared to cell culture for the diagnosis of Chlamydia trachomatis infections in the female genital tract. By culture, the incidence in the 496 patients in the study was 12.3%. Immunofluorescence demonstrated organisms in 90% of the culture-positive cases, with a specificity of 99.3%. This method appears to be a successful replacement for culture for general screening.