BACKGROUND:

Chlamydia trachomatis is the most prevalent sexual infection in the world. It is asymptomatic in up to 80% of cases and is linked to pelvic inflammatory disease, infertility, premature delivery, abortion, ectopic pregnancy, respiratory disease in newborns, and neonatal mortality.

OBJECTIVES:

To verify the incidence and factors linked to C. trachomatis urogenital infection in parturient women in a public maternity hospital in Belém, Pará State, Brazil, between November 21 and December 8, 2011.

MATERIALS AND METHODS:

Study participants signed an informed consent form, and answered a standardized questionnaire. C. trachomatis was detected using the COBAS Amplicor CT/NG test (Roche Molecular Systems, Branchburg, NJ, USA), according to manufacturer's recommendations. The BioEstat v5.0 software was used for statistical analysis, and the Odds ratio test for analyzing variables. A p ≤ 0.05 was considered statistically significant, and the confidence interval was 95%.

RESULTS:

The incidence of C. trachomatis urogenital infection was 18% (22/122); the infection was significantly associated with participants aged 25 years or younger (p = 0.014) and those who did not undergo prenatal testing (p = 0.0029).

CONCLUSION:

The high incidence of C. trachomatis in parturient women at this maternity hospital shows the need for developing health policies focused on screening strategies and prevention of sexually transmitted diseases in pregnant women and newborns in Brazilian Amazon Region.

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