Evidence map›Paper›PMID 15572624›Full record

ArticleSexually transmitted infections2004

Screening for syphilis among men who have sex with men in various clinical settings.

J Debattista, J Dwyer, R Anderson, D Rowling, J Patten, M Mortlock

Open access · bronzeAbstract readMulticenter Study
In one paragraph

Article in Sexually transmitted infections, 2004. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
1.1field-weighted citation impact, top 22% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed, 22 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

J DebattistaSexual Health and AIDS Service, 270 Roma Street, Brisbane, Queensland 4000, Australia. joedebat@powerup.com.au
J Dwyer
R Anderson
D Rowling
J Patten
M Mortlock
Sexual Health Clinic · FI

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesTo assess the prevalence of syphilis infections among men who have sex with men (MSM) accessing the Brisbane Sexual Health Clinic during the period 1997 up to May 2003, data were collated through three clinical programmes conducted by the service-a large inner city mainstream sexual health clinic and two small outreach sessional clinics conducted on the site of male sex on premises venues (SOPV). Data analysis also provided the opportunity to evaluate the effectiveness of the smaller outreach clinics to access populations of MSM less likely to attend or identify at the larger mainstream clinic, and therefore enhance the detection of previously undiagnosed sexually transmissible infections.

methodsComputerised records from 1997-2003 were collated for a statistical analysis of syphilis and other STI pathology results for all MSM accessing the mainstream clinic, and two outreach clinics.

resultsA review of client charts showed that 16 new syphilis diagnoses were made over the previous 5 years, but only two of these infections (both through the mainstream clinic) were early syphilis and therefore transmissible. All other cases were latent infections. A higher proportion of bisexual men was identified with positive syphilis serology but this was just below significance (p=0.06). Significantly, almost a third of syphilis diagnoses (all latent) were made at SOPV outreach clinics, despite the much lower proportion of clients seen overall through the SOPV clinics. For other sexually transmissible infections, the mainstream clinic demonstrated greater efficiency at case detection.

conclusionOutreach clinics located in male saunas may serve an effective function in syphilis screening by facilitating access for a particular subpopulation of MSM (bisexual, married men). These outreach clinics may provide important outlets for education and opportunistic screening of asymptomatic MSM and foster a greater willingness for men to honestly self identify. However, larger, mainstream clinics serve a more anonymous venue for the testing of symptomatic men.

Indexed as

AdolescentAdultAgedAged, 80 and overAmbulatory CareBisexualityHomosexuality, MaleHumansMaleMarital StatusMass ScreeningMiddle AgedPrevalenceQueenslandSyphilis

Identifiers

PMID15572624
PMCPMC1744920
OpenAlexW2149209564

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.