On July 22, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) revised its guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of sexually transmitted infections (STI), including with regard to how to test for certain kinds of infections. Here is an overview of what you need to know if STI testing is part of your laboratory’s portfolio. The Diagnostic Challenge The term “sexually transmitted infection” refers to a pathogen that causes infection through sexual contact (not to be confused with the term “sexually transmitted disease” (STD), which refers to a recognizable disease state that develops from an infection). In addition to increasing the risk of HIV transmission, STIs can have serious health effects, including human papillomavirus (HPV) which causes genital warts and is implicated in cancer of the cervix. Many STIs are asymptomatic or sub-clinical and thus go undiagnosed. But screening, especially of high-risk individuals, is effective in preventing STIs. In 2015, the CDC made waves by issuing revised guidelines (Sexually Transmitted Diseases and Treatment Guidelines, 2015) recommending the use of nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs) for use in screening high-risk populations for Trichomonas vaginalis and routine trichomonas. The updated guidelines build on those recommendations. NAAT-Based Diagnosis of Mycoplasma Genitalium Back in 2015, […]