In the present study, it was demonstrated that the sensitivity of the PCR
for the detection of Chlamydia trachomatis is influenced by the volume of
the clinical sample which is processed in the PCR. An adequate sensitivity
for PCR was established by processing at least 4%, i.e., 80 microliters,
of the clinical sample volume per PCR. By using this preparation
procedure, 1,110 clinical samples were evaluated by PCR and by cell
culture, and results were compared. After discordant analysis, cell
culture resulted in a sensitivity of 79.1% and PCR resulted in a
sensitivity of 92.7%. Furthermore, it was shown that treatme