ArticleBMJ open2019
Evaluation of reliability of self-collected vaginal swabs over physician-collected samples for diagnosis of bacterial vaginosis, candidiasis and trichomoniasis, in a resource-limited setting: a cross-sectional study in India.
Article in BMJ open, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
17 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 35 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
- Standardizing vaginal microbial profiling: evaluating swab materials, storage conditions, and host DNA depletion strategies.BMC microbiology · 2026Article
- The vital role of Lactobacillus sp. in vaginal health: Implications for enhanced prophylactic research.Probiotics and antimicrobial proteins · 2026Review
- Unexplained infertility's determinants, correlation with bacterial vaginosis and anti-sperm antibodies among Congolese women: a case‒control study.BMC women's health · 2025Article
- The burden of infertility in north-eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, a high-fertility region: a cross-sectional study.Reproductive health · 2025Article
- Trichomoniasis Infection and Associated Risk Factors Among Women of Reproductive Age in Nepalgunj Medical College Teaching Hospital, Kohalpur, Banke.Journal of parasitology research · 2025Article
- Increased reproductive tract infections among secondary school girls during the COVID-19 pandemic: associations with pandemic-related stress, mental health, and domestic safety.Sexual medicine · 2024Article
- Nurses' perspectives on user-friendly self-sampling interventions for diagnosis of sexually transmitted infections among young women in eThekwini district municipality: a nominal group technique.BMC health services research · 2024Article
- Article
- The prevalence and risk factors of Trichomonas vaginalis in Wuhan and the Tibetan area, China: a two-center study.Parasitology research · 2023Article
- Assessment of excessive vaginal discharge among women who presented to Phuentsholing General Hospital: A hospital-based study.Health science reports · 2022Article
- Mapping Evidence of Self-Sampling to Diagnose Sexually Transmitted Infections in Women: A Scoping Review.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Southern African HIV Clinicians Society 2022 guideline for the management of sexually transmitted infections: Moving towards best practice.Southern African journal of HIV medicine · 2022Article
- Acceptability and efficacy of vaginal self-sampling for genital infection and bacterial vaginosis: A cross-sectional study.PloS one · 2021Article
- Clinical Evaluation of a Self-Testing Kit for Vaginal Infection Diagnosis.Journal of healthcare engineering · 2021Article
- Recent Advances in Presentation, Diagnosis and Treatment for Mixed Vaginitis.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2021Review
- Prevalence of nonviral reproductive tract infections/sexually transmitted infections in female patients with cervicovaginal discharge: Excerpts from a regional reference center in North India.Indian journal of sexually transmitted diseases and AIDSArticle
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesSelf-collected vaginal swabs can facilitate diagnosis of vaginal discharge (VD) in resource-limited settings, provided reliability of the method is established. The aim of this study was to evaluate the concordance between self-collected and physician-collected vaginal swabs for aetiological diagnosis of VD and to determine the prevalence of bacterial vaginosis (BV), vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) and trichomonas vaginitis (TV).
methodsA total of 550 females (median age: 32 years; range: 18-45 years) attending two sexually transmitted infection/reproductive tract infection (STI/RTI) clinics with VD from January 2015 to May 2016 were included in the study after obtaining written informed consent. Swabs were self-collected by patients after instructions and subsequently by a physician under speculum examination. Samples were processed for standard bedside tests, Gram staining, wet mount and culture (gold standard) according to the national guidelines. Concordance between the two methods was determined by the Cohen's kappa value.
resultsBV, VVC and TV were diagnosed in 79 (14.4%), 144 (26.2%) and 3 (0.5%) patients, respectively. VVC coexisted with BV in 58 (10.5%) patients. There was no coinfection of TV with BV or VVC.
conclusionThe comparative performance of self-collected and physician-collected vaginal swabs establishes self-collection of samples for BV, VVC and TV as a viable alternative tool in the management of STIs/RTIs, especially in peripheral and resource-constrained settings. This would be effective in implementing the diagnostic approaches for STIs/RTIs in community-based surveillance studies at national or regional level and therefore strengthening the National STI/RTI Control Programme.
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