A Cost-Effectiveness Evaluation of Testing and Treatment of Chlamydia trachomatis Infection Among Asymptomatic Women Infected With Neisseria gonorrhoeae

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Abstract
Because patients infected with Neisseria gonorrhoeae are frequently coinfected with Chlamydia trachomatis, routine dual treatment of patients with N gonorrhoeae infection is frequently practiced and has long been recommended. The goal of this study was to examine the cost-effectiveness of routine dual treatment of women with N gonorrhoeae infection, with or without separate testing for C trachomatis, compared with an alternative of testing for both infections and restricting treatment for C trachomatis to women testing positive for C trachomatis. A decision analysis compared the cost-effectiveness of these options using cases of pelvic inflammatory disease prevented as the outcome. Parameter values were taken from the literature. Routine dual treatment is not an effective or cost-effective replacement for testing for C trachomatis, but it can increase the number of cases of C trachomatis treated when combined with testing. Dual treatment results in more overtreatment of C trachomatis infection than treatment based on test results. Testing for both infections is more cost-effective than routine presumptive treatment for C trachomatis. Providing both presumptive treatment and testing for C trachomatis can also be cost-effective in some settings.