Screening and treatment of Chlamydia trachomatis infections

#### Summary points Chlamydia trachomatis is the most commonly diagnosed bacterial sexually transmitted infection worldwide.1 2 Numbers of diagnoses have increased over the past 10 years as a result of more sensitive tests and increased testing. Genital infection with C trachomatis is asymptomatic in 50-88% of men and women,w1 and 46% of infections clear spontaneously within a year.3 #### Sources and selection criteria We searched Medline databases for Chlamydia trachomatis , chlamydia screening, pelvic inflammatory disease, and ectopic pregnancy. We looked at guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence and the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network, in addition to reports from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and World Health Organization. Persistent chlamydia infection can lead to pelvic inflammatory disease, ectopic pregnancy, and tubal infertility in womenw2 and epididymitis and epididymo-orchitis in men.2 Here, we describe the diagnosis and management of chlamydia and discuss control strategies. Guidance on the laboratory diagnosis and treatment of chlamydia has a strong evidence base, but evidence on the natural course of infection and optimum control strategies is less robust. Infection can occur at any age but is most common in people under 25,w3 with rates of diagnosis peaking …