Neisseria gonorrhoeae, NAA

Neisseria gonorrhoeae, NAA is used to detect gonococcus for the diagnosis of gonorrheal infection and, when clinically warranted, to assess response after treatment. The test, also referred to as a Neisseria gonorrhoeae DNA assay or real-time PCR, is suitable for screening programs in populations with defined risk for sexually transmitted infections. Applied in symptomatic and asymptomatic patients, this nucleic acid amplification method offers qualitative evidence of infection to guide management and public health screening strategies.

Neisseria gonorrhoeae is a gram-negative diplococcus (gonococcus) that causes gonorrhea, acquired through vaginal, anal, or oral sexual contact and transmitted perinatally during delivery. Many women are asymptomatic; when symptoms occur they commonly include mucopurulent vaginal discharge, dysuria, intermenstrual bleeding, pelvic or perineal pain, and vulvovaginal irritation. In men, symptoms typically begin 3–4 days after exposure and include urethral discharge, dysuria, and erythema or edema of the meatus; with chronic infection the discharge may be scant. Without treatment, infection can extend into the upper genitourinary and reproductive tracts—prostatitis and epididymitis in men, and endometritis, salpingitis, or oophoritis in women—and can disseminate to involve joints or the eyes. Risk is elevated with multiple sexual partners, a partner with a history of sexually transmitted infections, and unprotected sex. Diagnostic options include microbiologic culture, serologic methods, and molecular techniques. Nucleic acid amplification testing provides the greatest analytical sensitivity and specificity among these approaches. Gonorrhea is generally curable with appropriate antibiotic therapy.