Sampling Technique and Detection Rates for Pharyngeal Gonorrhea Using Culture

In Brief In a study of 6721 pharyngeal gonorrhoea culture results taken by 43 clinicians, there was a significant difference in the detection rate by individual clinician (0%–10%, median: 1.3%, P = 0.05). The detection rate was associated with the frequency with which clinicians reported inducing a gag reflex when taking pharyngeal swabs (P < 0.05). In this study detection rates for pharyngeal gonorrhoea differed significantly between clinicians and were associated with the frequency with which clinicians reported inducing a gag reflex when taking pharyngeal swabs.