SynthesisSexually transmitted infections2005
Diagnostic accuracy of self collected vaginal specimens for human papillomavirus compared to clinician collected human papillomavirus specimens: a meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Sexually transmitted infections, 2005. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 73 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled 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.
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.
Who cites it
73 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 185 citations in OpenAlex.
- Accuracy of self-collected versus healthcare worker collected specimens for diagnosing sexually transmitted infections in females: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis.Scientific reports · 2024Pooled it
- An updated systemic review and meta-analysis on human papillomavirus in breast carcinogenesis.Frontiers in oncology · 2023Pooled it
- Self-collected HPV testing improves participation in cervical cancer screening: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Canadian journal of public health = Revue canadienne de sante publique · 2013Pooled it
- Human papillomavirus infection and increased risk of HIV acquisition. A systematic review and meta-analysis.AIDS (London, England) · 2012Pooled it
- Trial
- Randomized Comparison of Two Vaginal Self-Sampling Methods for Human Papillomavirus Detection: Dry Swab versus FTA Cartridge.PloS one · 2015Trial
- Trial
- Trial
- Circumcision of HIV-infected men and transmission of human papillomavirus to female partners: analyses of data from a randomised trial in Rakai, Uganda.The Lancet. Infectious diseases · 2011Trial
- Effect of circumcision of HIV-negative men on transmission of human papillomavirus to HIV-negative women: a randomised trial in Rakai, Uganda.Lancet (London, England) · 2011Trial
- Article
- Is there a difference in sample adequacy when vaginal HPV DNA samples are self-collected at home, a health post, or a primary care health center in rural Ethiopia? Implications for community cervical cancer screening.BMC women's health · 2026Article
- Cervical Cancer in the Era of HPV: Translating Molecular Mechanisms into Preventive Public Health Action.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- Voices from the Margins: Barriers and Facilitators to HPV Self-Sampling Among Structurally Marginalized People with a Cervix in the Greater Toronto Area and Ontario.Current oncology (Toronto, Ont.) · 2025Article
- Diagnostic accuracy of the Daye diagnostic tampon compared to clinician-collected and self-collected vaginal swabs for detecting HPV: a comparative study.Journal of clinical microbiology · 2025Article
- Breaking Barriers: Empowering Cervical Cancer Screening with HPV Self-Sampling for Sex Workers and Formerly Incarcerated Women in Toronto.Current oncology (Toronto, Ont.) · 2024Article
- Article
- From Satirical Poems and Invisible Poisons to Radical Surgery and Organized Cervical Cancer Screening-A Historical Outline of Cervical Carcinoma and Its Relation to HPV Infection.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- The Future of Cervical Cancer Screening.International journal of women's health · 2024Review
- Implementation of a Cervical Cancer Screening Intervention for Under- or Never-Screened Women in Ontario, Canada: Understanding the Acceptability of HPV Self-Sampling.Current oncology (Toronto, Ont.) · 2023Article
13 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
BACKGROUND/
objectivesProviding summary recommendations regarding self collection of vaginal specimens for human papillomavirus (HPV) testing is difficult owing to the wide range of published estimates for the diagnostic accuracy of this approach. To determine summary estimates from analyses of reported findings of the sensitivity, specificity and summary receiver operating characteristic curves (SROC) for self collected vaginal specimens for HPV testing compared to the reference standard, clinician collected HPV specimens.
methodsStandard search criteria for a diagnostic systematic review were employed. Eligible studies were combined using a random effects model and summary ROC curves were derived for overall and for specific subgroups.
resultsSummary measures were determined from 12 studies. Six studies where patients used Dacron or cotton swabs or cytobrushes to obtain samples were pooled and had an overall sensitivity of 0.74 (95% CI 0.61 to 0.84) and specificity of 0.88 (95% CI 0.83 to 0.92), with diagnostic odds ratio of 22.3 and an area under the curve of 0.91. Self specimens using Dacron or cotton swabs or cytobrushes collected by women enrolled at referral clinics had an overall sensitivity of 0.81 (95% CI 0.65 to 0.91) and specificity of 0.90 (95% CI 0.80 to 0.95). Sensitivity and specificity of tampons ranged from 0.67-0.94 and 0.80-0.85 respectively.
conclusionsOur findings indicate that the combined sensitivity for HPV-DNA is more than 70% when patients use Dacron swabs, cotton swabs, or cytobrushes to obtain their own vaginal specimens for HPV-DNA evaluation. Self collected HPV-DNA swabs may be an appropriate alternative for low resource settings or in patients reluctant to undergo pelvic examinations.
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Registered trials
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.