ArticlePloS one2018
Evaluating diagnostic indicators of urogenital Schistosoma haematobium infection in young women: A cross sectional study in rural South Africa.
Article in PloS one, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 26 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
26 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 44 citations in OpenAlex.
- Association of female genital schistosomiasis and human papillomavirus and cervical pre-cancer: a systematic review.BMC women's health · 2025Pooled it
- A systematic review of handheld tools in lieu of colposcopy for cervical neoplasia and female genital schistosomiasis.International journal of gynaecology and obstetrics: the official organ of the International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics · 2021Pooled it
- SCORE Studies on the Impact of Drug Treatment on Morbidity due toThe American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene · 2020Pooled it
- Determinants of Urogenital Schistosomiasis Among Pregnant Women and its Association With Pregnancy Outcomes, Neonatal Deaths, and Child Growth.The Journal of infectious diseases · 2021Trial
- Sex-specific presentation, epidemiology, and control of schistosomiasis in women and adolescent girls.The Lancet. Global health · 2026Review
- Diagnosis and treatment of female genital schistosomiasis.The Lancet. Microbe · 2026Review
- The burden and risk factors of female genital schistosomiasis in two schistosomiasis-endemic states of Nigeria.International health · 2025Article
- Visual diagnostics for female genital schistosomiasis and the opportunity for improvement using computer vision.Parasitology · 2025Review
- Female Genital Schistosomiasis as a Cause of Tubal Ectopic Pregnancy and Recurrent Pregnancy Loss: A Case Report.Case reports in pathology · 2025Article
- Predictors for participation in mass-treatment and female genital schistosomiasis re-investigation, and the effect of praziquantel treatment in South African adolescents.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2024Article
- The WHO atlas for female-genital schistosomiasis: Co-design of a practicable diagnostic guide, digital support and training.PLOS global public health · 2024Article
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- Visual diagnosis of female genital schistosomiasis in Zambian women from hand-held colposcopy: agreement of expert image review and association with clinical symptoms.Wellcome open research · 2023Article
- Improving the Response of Health Systems to Female Genital Schistosomiasis in Endemic Countries through a Gender-Sensitive Human Rights-Based Framework.Diseases (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Establishing and Integrating a Female Genital Schistosomiasis Control Programme into the Existing Health Care System.Tropical medicine and infectious disease · 2022Review
- Absence of lower genital tract lesions among women of reproductive age infected with Schistosoma mansoni: A cross-sectional study using a colposcope in Western Kenya.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2022Article
- Validation of the isothermal Schistosoma haematobium Recombinase Polymerase Amplification (RPA) assay, coupled with simplified sample preparation, for diagnosing female genital schistosomiasis using cervicovaginal lavage and vaginal self-swab samples.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2022Article
- Prevalence of urinary schistosomiasis in women: a systematic review and meta-analysis of recently published literature (2016-2020).Tropical medicine and health · 2022Review
- Association of Female Genital Schistosomiasis With the Cervicovaginal Microbiota and Sexually Transmitted Infections in Zambian Women.Open forum infectious diseases · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
12 authors at 8 institutions in 5 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundUrine microscopy is the standard diagnostic method for urogenital S. haematobium infection. However, this may lead to under-diagnosis of urogenital schistosomiasis, as the disease may present itself with genital symptoms in the absence of ova in the urine. Currently there is no single reliable and affordable diagnostic method to diagnose the full spectrum of urogenital S. haematobium infection. In this study we explore the classic indicators in the diagnosis of urogenital S. haematobium infection, with focus on young women.
methodsIn a cross-sectional study of 1237 sexually active young women in rural South Africa, we assessed four diagnostic indicators of urogenital S. haematobium infection: microscopy of urine, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) of cervicovaginal lavage (CVL), urogenital symptoms, and sandy patches detected clinically in combination with computerised image analysis of photocolposcopic images. We estimated the accuracy of these diagnostic indicators through the following analyses: 1) cross tabulation (assumed empirical gold standard) of the tests against the combined findings of sandy patches and/or computerized image analysis and 2) a latent class model of the four indicators without assuming any gold standard.
resultsThe empirical approach showed that urine microscopy had a sensitivity of 34.7% and specificity of 75.2% while the latent class analysis approach (LCA) suggested a sensitivity of 81.0% and specificity of 85.6%. The empirical approach and LCA showed that Schistosoma PCR in CVL had low sensitivity (14.1% and 52.4%, respectively) and high specificity (93.0% and 98.0, respectively). Using LCA, the presence of sandy patches showed a sensitivity of 81.6 and specificity of 42.4%. The empirical approach and LCA showed that urogenital symptoms had a high sensitivity (89.4% and 100.0%, respectively), whereas specificity was low (10.6% and 12.3%, respectively).
conclusionAll the diagnostic indicators used in the study had limited accuracy. Using urine microscopy or Schistosoma PCR in CVL would only confirm a fraction of the sandy patches found by colposcopic examination.
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