CHARACTERISTICS OF WOMEN UNDER FERTILITY INVESTIGATION WITH IGA/IGG SEROPOSITIVITY FOR CHLAMYDIA-TRACHOMATIS

Chlamydial serology was performed in a group of 100 consecutive women and their partners under fertility investigation. Over one-quarter of the women had evidence of an ongoing, asymptomatic chlamydial infection. A significantly higher incidence of IgA-positivity was associated with women with evidence of tubal pathology, verified by hysterosalpingography and/or laparoscopy and with previous users of intrauterine devices. The male partners of IgA-positive women had a significantly higher incidence of IgA-positivity than the other men. However, this was not associated with an increase in sperm pathology relative to the controls. The study indicates that chlamydial serology should be integrated into the routine screening of women under fertility investigation regardless of previous history and that IgA serology provides more information about tubal pathology than IgG serology.