The prevalence of Chlamydia trachomatis infection among Saudi women attending the infertility clinic in Central Saudi Arabia

OBJECTIVES To determine the prevalence of Chlamydia trachomatis (C. trachomatis) infection among Saudi women, its clinical presentation, and its association to infertility. METHODS This study was conducted between October 2012 and July 2013 at King Khalid University Hospital and King Abdulaziz University Hospital, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Female patients aged between 19 and 46 years old with infertility problems seen at both hospitals were recruited to join the study. A separate group of female patients without infertility problems was also recruited from both hospitals to serve as controls for the study. Endocervical swabs were collected from both groups of patients, and samples were analyzed using real time polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS There was a statistically significantly greater prevalence of C. trachomatis infection in infertile women (n=8, 8.0%) compared with the fertile group of women (n=1, 1.0%). The C. trachomatis infection was significantly correlated to infertility. CONCLUSION A significant association between infertility and increased prevalence of C. trachomatis infection is shown in this study, thus, we suggest that screening for Chlamydial infection to be part of the routine investigation for infertility.