According to GUIDELINES FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF SYMPTOMATIC SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED INFECTIONS released by WHO, High-quality diagnostic tests for STIs are available but are often expensive, frequently labour intensive and, at this stage, not suitable for use as rapid point-of-care tests. Gold-standard tests with high levels of sensitivity and specificity are generally used to develop management flow charts and to subsequently evaluate and improve them, but these tests are typically not available for the day-to-day management of people with STIs.

For people with symptom of vaginal discharge, WHO recommends treatment for N. gonorrhoeae and/or C. trachomatis and/or T. vaginalis on the same visit. WHO suggests treatment based on the results of quality-assured molecular assays for N. gonorrhoeae and/or C. trachomatis and/or T. vaginalis. In settings in which treatment based on the results of molecular assay in the same visit is not feasible or that have limited or no molecular testing, WHO suggests treatment based on testing with quality-assured rapid point-of-care tests or on syndromic treatment.

Processing C. trachomatis for culture requires highly experienced laboratories and technicians and is complex, laborious and time-consuming to be of economic value. It is rarely performed in middle- or high-income countries nowadays except for special purposes. StrongStep® Chlamydia trachomatis Antigen Rapid Test is an immunochromatographic assay, it is an assay for the qualitative presumptive detection of Chlamydia trachomatis in female endocervical swab and male urethral swab specimens. The result comes out faster within 15 minutes permitting patients being treated within one hospital-visit. Superior performance (above 98% accurancy) has been validated by 1086 cases of clinical trials. Besides, low costing allows it to be promoted among developing countries.

REFERENCE:

WHO. Guidelines for the management of symptomatic sexually transmitted infections. 2021 Guidelines for the management of symptomatic sexually transmitted infections