ArticleSexually transmitted infections2013
Comparison of self-obtained penile-meatal swabs to urine for the detection of C. trachomatis, N. gonorrhoeae and T. vaginalis.
Article in Sexually transmitted infections, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 24 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
24 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 52 citations in OpenAlex.
- German evidence- and consensus-based guideline on the management of penile urethritis.Journal der Deutschen Dermatologischen Gesellschaft = Journal of the German Society of Dermatology : JDDG · 2025Guideline
- Optimizing Screening for Sexually Transmitted Infections in Men Using Self-Collected Swabs: A Systematic Review.Sexually transmitted diseases · 2018Pooled it
- Bacterial Sexually Transmitted Disease Screening Outside the Clinic--Implications for the Modern Sexually Transmitted Disease Program.Sexually transmitted diseases · 2016Pooled it
- Sexually transmitted diseases treatment guidelines, 2015.MMWR. Recommendations and reports : Morbidity and mortality weekly report. Recommendations and reports · 2015Guideline
- Self-collected penile-meatal swabs are suitable for the detection of STIs in Ugandan men with high rates of STI coinfections.Sexually transmitted infections · 2025Article
- Lessons Learned From the Implementation of a Pilot Study on Self-collected Specimen Return by Sexual Minority Men (Project Caboodle!): Qualitative Exploration.JMIR formative research · 2023Article
- Perceptions and Experiences of Returning Self-collected Specimens for HIV, Bacterial STI and Potential PrEP Adherence Testing among Sexual Minority Men in the United States.AIDS and behavior · 2023Article
- High burden of untreated syphilis, drug resistant Neisseria gonorrhoeae, and other sexually transmitted infections in men with urethral discharge syndrome in Kampala, Uganda.BMC infectious diseases · 2022Article
- Management of male factor infertility: position statement from the Italian Society of Andrology and Sexual Medicine (SIAMS) : Endorsing Organization: Italian Society of Embryology, Reproduction, and Research (SIERR).Journal of endocrinological investigation · 2022Article
- Bridging the gap between development of point-of-care nucleic acid testing and patient care for sexually transmitted infections.Lab on a chip · 2022Review
- Trichomonas vaginalis Detection in Urogenital Specimens from Symptomatic and Asymptomatic Men and Women by Use of the cobas TV/MG Test.Journal of clinical microbiology · 2021Article
- An Isothermal, Multiplex Amplification Assay for Detection and Genotyping of Human Papillomaviruses in Formalin-Fixed, Paraffin-Embedded Tissues.The Journal of molecular diagnostics : JMD · 2020Article
- The Laboratory Diagnosis ofPathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2020Review
- Prevalence of Trichomonas vaginalis Among Civilian, Noninstitutionalized Male and Female Population Aged 14 to 59 Years: United States, 2013 to 2016.Sexually transmitted diseases · 2019Article
- [40-year-old male with urethral discharge : Preparation for the specialist examination: part 13].Der Hautarzt; Zeitschrift fur Dermatologie, Venerologie, und verwandte Gebiete · 2018Article
- Microbial metagenome of urinary tract infection.Scientific reports · 2018Article
- Meatal Swabs Contain Less Cellular Material and Are Associated with a Decrease in Gram Stain Smear Quality Compared to Urethral Swabs in Men.Journal of clinical microbiology · 2017Article
- Strategies for Prevention and Treatment of Trichomonas vaginalis Infections.Clinical microbiology reviews · 2017Review
- Performance of self-collected penile-meatal swabs compared to clinician-collected urethral swabs for the detection of Chlamydia trachomatis, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Trichomonas vaginalis, and Mycoplasma genitalium by nucleic acid amplification assays.Diagnostic microbiology and infectious disease · 2016Article
- A Review of Evidence-Based Care of Symptomatic Trichomoniasis and Asymptomatic Trichomonas vaginalis Infections.Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America · 2015Review
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundSelf-obtained penile-meatal swabs and urine specimens have been used for Chlamydia trachomatis (CT), Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG) and Trichomonas vaginalis (TV) for outreach screening in men.
objectiveTo compare the sensitivity of self-collected male penile-meatal swabs and urine for the detection of CT, NG and TV.
methodsMatching penile-meatal swabs and urines were collected at home after recruitment to the study; via the internet programme, http://www.iwantthekit.org. The instructions directed the participant to place the tip of a Copan flocked swab at the meatal opening of the urethra to collect the penile-meatal sample. Two ml of urine was collected after the swab onto a Copan sponge-on-a-shaft collection device. Both swab and urine were placed into individual Aptima transport media tubes and mailed to the laboratory for testing. All specimens were tested for CT and NG using the GenProbe Aptima Combo2 Assay and for TV using GenProbe Aptima Analyte Specific Reagents with TV oligonucleotides.
resultsOf 634 men, 86 (13.6%) were positive for CT, 9 (1.4%) were positive for NG and 56 (9.3%) positive for TV. For CT, swab sensitivity was 81/86 (94.2%), and urine sensitivity was 66/86 (76.7%). For NG, swab sensitivity was 9/9 (100%) and urine sensitivity was 8/9 (88.9%). For TV, swab sensitivity was 45/56 (80.4%) and urine sensitivity was 22/56 (39.3%).
conclusionsSelf-obtained penile-meatal swabs provided for the detection of more CT, NG and TV, than urine specimens.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.