CHLAMYDIAL INFECTIONS

Chlamydia trachomatis infections are probably the most common sexually transmitted disease in the Western world. In men, these infections do not have significant long-term consequences; however, in women, chlamydial infections of the fallopian tubes appear to be an important cause of obstructive infertility and ectopic pregnancy. The organism also causes significant ocular and pulmonary infection in infants. Awareness of the clinical syndromes associated with acute chlamydial infection, as well as the epidemiology of the organism in asymptomatic individuals, is the key to appropriate diagnosis and treatment.