ArticleBMJ open2015
The syphilis care cascade: tracking the course of care after screening positive among men and transgender women who have sex with men in Lima, Peru.
Article in BMJ open, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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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.
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Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 21 citations in OpenAlex.
- Factors influencing adult and adolescent completion of treatment for late syphilis: a mixed methods systematic review.Bulletin of the World Health Organization · 2025Pooled it
- Improved rapid diagnostic tests to detect syphilis and yaws: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Sexually transmitted infections · 2022Pooled it
- "It was difficult to offer same day results": evaluation of community-based point-of-care testing for sexually transmitted infections among youth using the GeneXpert platform in Zimbabwe.BMC health services research · 2022Trial
- Expedited Partner Therapy (EPT) increases the frequency of partner notification among MSM in Lima, Peru: a pilot randomized controlled trial.BMC medicine · 2017Trial
- The Road to Elimination of Mother-to-Child Transmission of Syphilis in Malawi: A Mixed-Methods Analysis of Health System Readiness.Sexually transmitted diseases · 2026Article
- Innovations and Challenges in Syphilis Screening and Prevention Among Men Who Have Sex With Men: A Scoping Review.Sexually transmitted diseases · 2026Article
- Factors associated with the completion of syphilis treatment among transgender women and travestis, in five Brazilian capitals, 2019-2021: a multicenter cross-sectional study.Epidemiologia e servicos de saude : revista do Sistema Unico de Saude do Brasil · 2024Article
- An evaluation of the quality of ear health services for Aboriginal children living in remote Australia: a cascade of care analysis.BMC health services research · 2023Article
- Laboratory Evaluation of the DPP Syphilis Screen & Confirm Assay.Microbiology spectrum · 2022Article
- Facilitators and barriers to point-of-care testing for sexually transmitted infections in low- and middle-income countries: a scoping review.BMC infectious diseases · 2022Article
- Sexual network characteristics of men who have sex with men with syphilis and/or gonorrhoea/chlamydia in Lima, Peru: network patterns as roadmaps for STI prevention interventions.Sexually transmitted infections · 2019Article
- Expanding syphilis testing: a scoping review of syphilis testing interventions among key populations.Expert review of anti-infective therapy · 2018Article
- HIV and syphilis testing preferences among men who have sex with men and among transgender women in Lima, Peru.PloS one · 2018Article
- Beyond signal functions in global obstetric care: Using a clinical cascade to measure emergency obstetric readiness.PloS one · 2018Article
- Perceived Barriers and Facilitators to Integrating HIV Prevention and Treatment with Cross-Sex Hormone Therapy for Transgender Women in Lima, Peru.AIDS and behavior · 2017Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
objectivesSyphilis is endemic among men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender women in Latin America. The objective of this study was to assess if those who screen positive for syphilis are receiving appropriate care and treatment.
methodsWe use data from the 2011 Peruvian National HIV Sentinel Surveillance to describe the syphilis care cascade among high-risk MSM and transgender women. Medical records from participants who had a positive syphilis screening test at two of the enrolment sites in Lima were reviewed to determine their subsequent course of care.
resultsWe identified a cohort of 314 syphilis seropositive participants (median age: 30, 33.7% self-identified as transgender). Only 284/314 (90.4%) participants saw a physician for evaluation within 28 days of their positive test. Of these, 72/284 (25.4%) were asked to return for confirmatory results before deciding whether or not to start treatment; however, 45/72 (62.5%) of these participants did not follow up within 28 days. Of the people prescribed three weekly doses of penicillin, 34/63 (54%) received all three doses on time.
conclusionsMany MSM and transgender women with a positive syphilis screening test are lost at various steps along the syphilis care cascade and may have persistent infection. Interventions in this population are needed to increase testing, link seropositive patients into care and ensure that they receive appropriate and timely treatment.
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