Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39191483›Full record

SynthesisBMJ global health2024

At-home specimen self-collection as an additional testing strategy for chlamydia and gonorrhoea: a systematic literature review and meta-analysis.

Amanda C Smith, Phoebe G Thorpe, Emily R Learner, Eboni T Galloway, Ellen N Kersh

Abstract readSystematic ReviewMeta-Analysis
In one paragraph

Synthesis in BMJ global health, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
8citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
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, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Point-of-care Tests for Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae: Review of the Literature.Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America · 2026
    Pooled it
  2. Review
  3. Why Are Gonorrhea Case Rates Declining in the United States? A Research Agenda.Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America · 2026
    Review
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Article
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

5 authors.

Amanda C SmithDivision of STD Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA rqq8@cdc.gov.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5698-872X
Phoebe G ThorpeDivision of STD Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
Emily R LearnerDivision of STD Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
Eboni T GallowayDivision of STD Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
Ellen N KershDivision of STD Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introduction

methodsWe searched Medline, Embase, Global Health, Cochrane Library, CINAHL (EBSCOHost), Scopus and Clinical Trials. Studies were included if they directly compared specimens self-collected at home or in other non-clinical settings to specimen collection at a healthcare facility (self or clinician) for Ct and/or Ng testing and evaluated the following outcomes: uptake in testing, linkage to care, and concordance (agreement) between the two settings for the same individuals. Risk of bias (RoB) was assessed using Cochrane Risk of Bias (RoB2) tool for randomised control trials (RCTs).

results19 studies, from 1998 to 2024, comprising 15 RCTs with a total of 62 369 participants and four concordance studies with 906 participants were included. Uptake of Ct or Ng testing was 2.61 times higher at home compared with clinical settings. There was a high concordance between specimens collected at home and in clinical settings, and linkage to care was not significantly different between the two settings (prevalence ratio 0.96 (95% CI 0.91-1.01)).

conclusionOur meta-analysis and systematic literature review show that offering self-collection of specimens at home or in other non-clinical settings could be used as an additional strategy to increase sexually transmitted infection testing in countries that have not yet widely adopted this collection method.

Indexed as

Chlamydia InfectionsChlamydia trachomatisGonorrheaNeisseria gonorrhoeaeSpecimen HandlingHumansMass ScreeningSelf CareDiagnostics and toolsInfections, diseases, disorders, injuriesPublic HealthSystematic review

Identifiers

PMID39191483
PMCPMC11404247

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.