Dicker L W, Mosure D J, Levine W C
Division of Sexually Transmitted Diseases Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia 30333, USA.
Sex Transm Dis. 1998 May;25(5):251-3. doi: 10.1097/00007435-199805000-00006.
Data on chlamydia screening collected as part of Regional Infertility Prevention Projects often do not include personal identifiers, therefore repeat tests for patients during a year cannot be identified. Consequently, positivity is calculated and used to monitor chlamydia prevalence.
To assess how well positivity can estimate prevalence in family planning and sexually transmitted disease (STD) clinic settings.
Analyzed data from chlamydia screening programs in three geographic areas of the United States that used unique patient identifiers.
The relationship between positivity and prevalence is related to both the percentage of tests that are repeat tests and the percentage of repeat tests that are positive. On average, the percentage of positive repeat tests was the same as or higher than prevalence in family planning clinics; thus, positivity was the same as or higher than prevalence. In STD clinics, the percentage of positive repeat tests was consistently lower than prevalence; thus, positivity underestimated prevalence. However, the absolute difference between positivity and prevalence was less than 0.5% in family planning and STD clinics.
Positivity can be used to monitor chlamydia prevalence in women screened in family planning and STD clinic settings.
作为区域不孕症预防项目一部分收集的衣原体筛查数据通常不包括个人标识符，因此无法识别患者在一年内的重复检测情况。因此，计算阳性率并用于监测衣原体患病率。
评估在计划生育和性传播疾病（STD）诊所环境中，阳性率对患病率的估计效果如何。
分析了美国三个地理区域使用独特患者标识符的衣原体筛查项目的数据。
阳性率与患病率之间的关系既与重复检测的比例有关，也与重复检测呈阳性的比例有关。平均而言，在计划生育诊所中，重复检测呈阳性的比例与患病率相同或更高；因此，阳性率与患病率相同或更高。在性病诊所中，重复检测呈阳性的比例始终低于患病率；因此，阳性率低估了患病率。然而，在计划生育和性病诊所中，阳性率与患病率之间的绝对差异小于0.5%。
阳性率可用于监测在计划生育和性病诊所接受筛查的女性中的衣原体患病率。
