MMWR: Recommendations for the Laboratory-Based Detection of Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae – 2014

This report updates CDC’s 2002 recommendations regarding screening tests to detect C. trachomatis and N. gonorrhoeae infections and provides new recommendations regarding optimal specimen types, the use of tests to detect rectal and oropharyngeal C. trachomatis and N. gonorrhoeae infections, and information regarding when supplemental testing is indicated. These recommendations are intended for use by clinical laboratory directors, laboratory staff, clinicians, and disease control personnel who must choose among the multiple available tests, establish standard operating procedures for collecting and processing specimens, interpret test results for laboratory reporting, and counsel and treat patients. The report recommends nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs) to detect chlamydia and gonorrhea except in cases of child sexual assault involving boys and rectal and oropharyngeal infections in prepubescent girls and when evaluating a potential gonorrhea treatment failure, in which case culture and susceptibility testing might be required.