Organise retesting
Reinfection is common. Test for reinfection around 3 months after treatment.
Why test for reinfection?
Reinfection dramatically increases the risk of complications, and about one quarter of women will be reinfected with chlamydia within four months of their initial infection.1,2 Between 10-18% of men will be reinfected.3
Supporting patients to test for reinfection
Discuss the need for retesting in 3 months with your patient when providing treatment. Some options for organising retesting are provided below:
Whatever option is chosen, reminders for retesting are useful to support the patient to test for reinfection.
Patient resources for retesting
For a patient factsheet about chlamydia, including retesting see:
For more patient resources, click below:
General Practice resources for retesting
For all General Practice resources, click below:
Key guidelines for chlamydia case management
For who and when to test, including in specific populations, see:
RACGP Red Book Guidelines for Preventive Activities in General Practice
For information about the entire chlamydia case management pathway, including retesting timeframes, see:
1. Davies B, Ward H, Leung S, et al. Heterogeneity in Risk of Pelvic Inflammatory Diseases After Chlamydia Infection: A Population-Based Study in Manitoba, Canada. J Infect. 2014;210(Suppl 2):S549-S55. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25381374
2. Walker J, Tabrizi SN, Fairley CK, et al. Chlamydia trachomatis Incidence and Re-Infection among Young Women – Behavioural and Microbiological Characteristics. PLOS ONE. 2012;7(5):e37778. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22662220
3. Fung M, Scott KC, Kent CK, et alChlamydial and gonococcal reinfection among men: a systematic review of data to evaluate the need for retestingSexually Transmitted Infections 2007;83:304-309. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17166889
