Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37703891›Full record

ArticleEmerging infectious diseases2023

Treponema pallidum Detection at Asymptomatic Oral, Anal, and Vaginal Sites in Adults Reporting Sexual Contact with Persons with Syphilis.

Ei T Aung, Christopher K Fairley, Deborah A Williamson, Francesca Azzato, Janet M Towns, Rebecca Wigan, Eric P F Chow, Marcus Y Chen

Open access · diamondAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Emerging infectious diseases, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
8citing papers in PubMed
1.9field-weighted citation impact, top 14% 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

8 citing papers in PubMed, 11 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Review
  3. Detection ofMicrobiology spectrum · 2026
    Article
  4. Review
  5. A solitary ulcer on the tongue.Wiener medizinische Wochenschrift (1946) · 2025
    Article
  6. Article
  7. Update on syphilis diagnostics.Current opinion in infectious diseases · 2025
    Review
  8. An Update on the Status of Direct Testing forJournal of the Association of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Disease Canada = Journal officiel de l'Association pour la microbiologie medicale et l'infectiologie Canada · 2024
    Review
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 4 institutions in 1 country.

Ei T Aung
Christopher K Fairley
Deborah A Williamson
Francesca Azzato
Janet M Towns
Rebecca Wigan
Eric P F Chow
Marcus Y Chen
Alfred Health · AUMelbourne Sexual Health Centre · AUMonash University · AUPeter Doherty Institute · AU

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

We investigated Treponema pallidum PCR positivity at mucosal sites (oral, anal, and vaginal sites) among adults who had sexual contact with a person with syphilis (syphilis contacts). All syphilis contacts had oral rinse and swab samples collected for testing. Men who have sex with men had anal swab and women had vaginal swab samples collected for testing, regardless of the presence of lesions. Of 407 persons tested, 42 (10%) had early syphilis diagnosed; of those, 19 (45%) tested positive by PCR from any anatomic site and had a positive serologic test. T. pallidum was positive from vaginal samples in 3 women, anal samples in 3 men, and oral cavity samples in 2 women and 3 men, without symptoms at those sites. Three women had no prior syphilis serologic test. T. pallidum detection at asymptomatic mucosal sites suggests early syphilis infections, particularly in cases that would conventionally be staged as latent syphilis of unknown duration.

Indexed as

Sexual and Gender MinoritiesSyphilisAdultFemaleHomosexuality, MaleHumansMaleTreponema pallidumVaginaAustraliaNAATnucleic acid amplification testsPCRpolymerase chain reaction testssexual contactssexually transmitted infectionsstaging of syphilissyphilissyphilis screeningTreponema pallidum

Identifiers

PMID37703891
PMCPMC10521609
OpenAlexW4386726436

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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.