EVALUATION OF THE PACE-2 NEISSERIA-GONORRHOEAE ASSAY BY 3 PUBLIC-HEALTH LABORATORIES

The Gen-Probe PACE 2 I)NA probe assay for Neisseria gonorrhoeae was compared with conventional culture techniques in three Florida public health laboratories with 436 patients (271 females and 165 males). The prevalence rates based on culture were 19.9, 55.8, and 33.5% for females, for males, and overall, respectively. Twenty-seven probe-positive specimens gave negative culture results. Twenty of these specimens were resolved as true positives after retesting with a probe competition assay. The resolved sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value were 99.4, 99.6, 99.4, and 99.6%, respectively.