Objective: To assess the suitability of vaginal washes as specimens for sexually transmitted disease diagnosis and determine the usefulness of PCR technology for Chlamydia trachomatis diagnosis in prepubertal girls.
Study design: Paired sets of vaginal secretions were collected with swabs and by vaginal wash from 138 prepubertal girls for evaluation because of alleged sexual abuse. Detection by culture of Neisseria gonorrhoeae and C. trachomatis was compared between the two sampling techniques. PCR techniques were also used to test 29 vaginal wash specimens for C. trachomatis.
Results: In the prepubertal girls N. gonorrhoeae was detected in two wash specimens but in only one swab specimen; C. trachomatis was detected by culture in both paired specimens from two children and by PCR in vaginal washes from both of the two children positive by culture; PCR identified two other infected children.
Conclusions: A vaginal wash technique coupled with newer molecular amplification technology may be useful in the assessment of sexually abused children.