Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32241905›Full record

ArticleSexually transmitted infections2020

Call to action for health systems integration of point-of-care testing to mitigate the transmission and burden of sexually transmitted infections.

Igor Toskin, Veloshnee Govender, Karel Blondeel, Maurine Murtagh, Magnus Unemo, Charifa Zemouri, Rosanna W Peeling, James Kiarie

Open access · hybridAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Sexually transmitted infections, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 34 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
34citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
5.3field-weighted citation impact, top 4% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

34 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 63 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
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  7. Rapid and simple detection of Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae using the EasyNAT CT/NG assay based on cross-priming amplification.European journal of clinical microbiology & infectious diseases : official publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology · 2025
    Article
  8. [Point-of-care tests for sexually transmitted infections-what is the current status?]Bundesgesundheitsblatt, Gesundheitsforschung, Gesundheitsschutz · 2025
    Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors at 5 institutions in 5 countries.

Igor ToskinDepartment of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Research, WHO, Geneva, Switzerland.ORCID 0000-0003-3046-7368
Veloshnee GovenderDepartment of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Research, WHO, Geneva, Switzerland.ORCID 0000-0002-5467-7477
Karel BlondeelDepartment of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Research, WHO, Geneva, Switzerland karel.blondeel@ugent.be.ORCID 0000-0001-6900-9124
Maurine MurtaghThe Murtagh Group, LCC, Woodside, California, USA.
Magnus UnemoWHO Collaborating Centre for Gonorrhoea and Other STIs, National Reference Laboratory for STIs, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine and Health, Örebro University, Örebro, Sweden.ORCID 0000-0003-1710-2081
Charifa ZemouriCollege of Dental Medicine, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar.ORCID 0000-0002-9211-3744
Rosanna W PeelingInternational Diagnostics Centre, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK.ORCID 0000-0001-7404-8873
James KiarieDepartment of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Research, WHO, Geneva, Switzerland.ORCID 0000-0003-4180-7858
World Health Organization · CHGhent University · BELondon School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine · GBÖrebro University · SEQatar University · QA

Funding

World Health Organization 001
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesIn 2016, WHO estimated 376 million new cases of the four main curable STIs: gonorrhoea, chlamydia, trichomoniasis and syphilis. Further, an estimated 290 million women are infected with human papillomavirus. STIs may lead to severe reproductive health sequelae. Low-income and middle-income countries carry the highest global burden of STIs. A large proportion of urogenital and the vast majority of extragenital non-viral STI cases are asymptomatic. Screening key populations and early and accurate diagnosis are important to provide correct treatment and to control the spread of STIs. This article paints a picture of the state of technology of STI point-of-care testing (POCT) and its implications for health system integration.

methodsThe material for the STI POCT landscape was gathered from publicly available information, published and unpublished reports and prospectuses, and interviews with developers and manufacturers.

resultsThe development of STI POCT is moving rapidly, and there are much more tests in the pipeline than in 2014, when the first STI POCT landscape analysis was published on the website of WHO. Several of the available tests need to be evaluated independently both in the laboratory and, of particular importance, in different points of care.

conclusionThis article reiterates the importance of accurate, rapid and affordable POCT to reach universal health coverage. While highlighting the rapid technical advances in this area, we argue that insufficient attention is being paid to health systems capacity and conditions to ensure the swift and rapid integration of current and future STI POCT. Unless the complexity of health systems, including context, institutions, adoption systems and problem perception, are recognised and mapped, simplistic approaches to policy design and programme implementation will result in poor realisation of intended outcomes and impact.

Indexed as

Chlamydia InfectionsDelivery of Health CareFemaleGonorrheaHIV InfectionsHumansImplementation ScienceMaleMycoplasma genitaliumMycoplasma InfectionsPapillomavirus InfectionsPoint-of-Care TestingSexually Transmitted DiseasesSyphilisTrichomonas Vaginitispoint of carepublic healthresource-limited settingstesting

Identifiers

PMID32241905
PMCPMC7402556
OpenAlexW3014853117

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.