Evaluation of the Abbott Alinity m STI assay for diagnosis of the primary causes of sexually transmitted infections in the United States

OBJECTIVES: The sexually transmitted infections, Chlamydia trachomatis (CT), Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG), Trichomonas vaginalis (TV), and Mycoplasma genitalium (MG), have similar risk factors and symptoms, supporting use of a quadruplex test as an efficient diagnostic modality. We assessed the clinical and analytical performance of the Abbott Alinity m STI assay to detect these pathogens. DESIGN AND METHODS: Urine and genital swabs from 142 patient samples were tested from an adult outpatient population in the Northeast United States. The positive and negative percent agreement for CT, NG, and TV were determined by comparison with the Hologic Panther Aptima assay. The analytical sensitivity was determined through serial dilution of standards for CT, NG, TV, and MG in negative urine and swab matrix. RESULTS: The positive and negative percent agreement of the Alinity m assay in comparison with the Hologic Panther Aptima assay were, respectively: CT [100.0% (90.6–100.0%) and 99.1% (94.8–100.0%)], NG [100.0% (89.6–100.0%) and 99.1% (94.9–100.0%)]; and TV [96.3% (81.7–99.8%) and 99.1% (95.2–100.0%)]. The limits of detection in urine and swab matrix were, respectively: CT ≤ 5, ≤1; NG ≤ 5, ≤5; TV ≤ 0.5, ≤0.5; and MG ≤ 500, ≤250 genome copies/mL. CONCLUSIONS: The Alinity m assay demonstrated excellent performance characteristics and identifies CT, NG, and TV accurately compared with a well-established comparator.