Prevalence of Chlamydia trachomatis infection with ELISA method and its related factors in women with a history of abortion referred to Bental-Hoda Hospital

Chlamydial infection is a common infection. This bacterium can cause complications such as: pelvic inflammatory infection (PID), ectopic pregnancy, infertility and abortion. This study was performed with aim to evaluate the prevalence of Chlamydia trachomatis infection in women with a history of abortion referred to Bental-Hoda Hospital in Bojnurd.

This descriptive study was performed on 90 women with a history of abortion who had referred to the Bental-Hoda Hospital in 2019. The research tool was the questionnaire and the study's sample was blood which was transferred to microbiology laboratory for ELISA test. Patient's demographic information and medical history including age, number of pregnancies, number of abortions, place of residence and number of successful deliveries were collected. Data were analyzed using SPSS software (version 19) and Chi-square and Fisher's exact tests. P<0.05 was considered statistically significant.

The prevalence of Chlamydial infection was 12.2% (n = 11). There was no significant relationship between the test's result (Chlamydial infection) and patients' age (p=0.92). The mean age was 27.7± 7.8 years in patients with chlamydia positive infection and 27.9±7.6 years in patients with negative infection. Also, no significant relationship was found between gestational age, number of pregnancies, place of residence, number of abortions and number of successful deliveries with test's result (chlamydial infection) (p<0.05).

Since in this study, the prevalence of Chlamydia infection was 12.2% in women with a history of abortion, in order to reduce the burden of disease in the community and prevent its complications, screening for Chlamydia by ELISA method can be considered as a part of routine care programs before and during pregnancy in all health centers.