The use of NAATs for the diagnosis of Neisseria gonorrhoeae in low-prevalence settings
| Author year (Ref) | Setting | Number of patients tested | Number of NAATs N. gonorrhoeae reactive (% of tests) | Method of confirmation of a reactive NAAT | Number of NAATs unconfirmed (% of reactive tests) | PPV for N. gonorrhoeae (confirmed positive) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Killick 20123 | Torbay GUM | 4160 | 33 (0.8%) | Alternative target and/or culture | 11 (33.3%) | Not reported |
| Hopkins 20124 | Liverpool GUM | 15 253 urine samples | 76 (0.5%) | Alternative target | 2 (2.6%) | 98.7% |
| Bhaduri 20075 | Worcester GUM | 181 men, 177 women | 3 (1.7%) men, 4 (2.3%) women | Culture | 0 men, 4 women culture negative | 43% (based on culture positive) |
| Bromhead 20136 | Wellington, New Zealand | 27 585 | 187 (0.68%) | Alternative target and/or culture | 8 (4.3%) | 95.6% |
| Upton, 20137 | Wellington, New Zealand (community laboratory) | 40 053 | 361 (0.9%) | Alternative target and/or culture | 9 (2.5%) | 97.1% |
| Kapala 20118 | Southern Ontario, Canada (community setting) | 96 071 | 248 (0.26%) | Alternative target and/or culture | 142 culture negative or not cultured; only 65 tested by alternative target, of these 1 unconfirmed. | Not reported |
| Golden 20049 | Washington, USA (non-specialist clinic) | 59 664 | 280 (0.47%) | Alternative target | 265 tested, 7 (2.6%) unconfirmed. | 97.4% |
| Fowler 201310 | Manchester and Liverpool NCSP | 18 044 men, 41 873 women | 59 (0.3%) men, 174 (0.4%) women | Alternative target | Not reported | Men ‘not calculable’ Women 3.8% |
| Skidmore 201111 | Five NCSP areas | 219 412 | 1226 (0.56%) | Alternative target (2 CSPs); repeat same NAAT on residual sample (3 CSPs) | Not reported | Not reported |
| Downing 201012 | Manchester NCSP | 16 028 | 111 (0.69%) | Reactive NAAT not repeated; referred for culture | 54/78 culture positive | 69% (based on culture positive) |
| Rao 200813 | Lewisham NCSP | 7369 | 414 (4.1%) | Repeat same NAAT on same sample; referred for culture | 199/296 culture positive | Not reported |
| Lavelle 200614 | Liverpool NCSP | 473 men, 4680 women | 8 (1.7%) men, 47 (1%) women | Repeat same NAAT on residual sample; referred for culture | 5/5 men and 34/38 women culture positive | Not reported |
Percentages in italics are calculated by reviewers, rather than the authors, for ease of comparison between studies. GUM, genitourinary medicine; NAAT, nucleic acid amplification tests; NCSP, National Chlamydia Screening Programme; PPV, positive predictive value.