Infecção por Chlamydia trachomatis e complicações reprodutivas na mulher: uma revisão sistemática

Abstract

Introduction: Chlamydia trachomatis is the most common sexually transmitted bacterium in the world. It is an obligate intracellular gram-negative pathogen, with serotypes D and K1 responsible for infections in the genital tract. C. trachomatis mainly affects young women of reproductive age and is strongly associated with risk behaviors and age younger than 25 years. The infection is asymptomatic in about 77% of women and 68% of men, which makes early diagnosis and treatment difficult. Diagnosis can be made by direct tests, such as reverse transcriptase followed by polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), and by indirect tests, such as antibody screening. When undiagnosed and untreated, C. trachomatis can ignite the lower genital tract and spread to the uterus, fallopian tubes, and ovaries, resulting in pelvic inflammatory disease (PID). PID is associated with tubal factor infertility, ectopic pregnancy, intrauterine fetal death, miscarriage, and stillbirth. Objectives: To verify the scientific evidence related to the association between C. trachomatis infection, female infertility and its consequences on women's health. Methodology: Descriptive, qualitative study, of the systematic literature review type. To search for articles, the PubMed/Medline and Scielo database platforms were used and articles published in the last ten years were included. The review was performed according to the PRISMA recommendation (Key Items for Reporting Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis) and using the Joanna Briggs Institute Appraisal Tools (JBI) to eliminate the risk of bias. The following keywords or descriptors were used: “Chlamydia trachomatis”, “infertility” and “female”. Results and Conclusion: The studies presented emphasize the impact of C. trachomatis on the female genital tract and the need for safe and rapid medical interventions.