Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41866354›Full record

ArticleScientific reports2026

Evaluation of the service quality and diagnostic performance of syphilis self-test kits purchased from E-commerce platforms in China.

Fangzhi Du, Hongchun Wang, Yue Xi, Xiaoyu Zhu, Kai Chen, Ruili Zhang, Xu Zhang, Xiaoli Zheng, Shaochun Chen, Weiming Tang and 1 more

Abstract readEvaluation Study
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Scientific reports, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–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

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

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

11 authors.

Fangzhi Du *Hospital for Skin Diseases, Institute of Dermatology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Nanjing, China.
Hongchun Wang *Hospital for Skin Diseases, Institute of Dermatology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Nanjing, China.
Yue XiHospital for Skin Diseases, Institute of Dermatology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Nanjing, China.
Xiaoyu ZhuHospital for Skin Diseases, Institute of Dermatology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Nanjing, China.
Kai ChenHospital for Skin Diseases, Institute of Dermatology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Nanjing, China.
Ruili ZhangDepartment of Dermatology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.
Xu ZhangHospital for Skin Diseases, Institute of Dermatology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Nanjing, China.
Xiaoli ZhengHospital for Skin Diseases, Institute of Dermatology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Nanjing, China.
Shaochun ChenHospital for Skin Diseases, Institute of Dermatology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Nanjing, China. chensc@ncstdlc.org.
Weiming TangUniversity of North Carolina Project-China, Guangzhou, China. Weiming_tang@med.unc.edu.
Qianqiu WangHospital for Skin Diseases, Institute of Dermatology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Nanjing, China. wangqianqiunj@126.com.

Funding

CAMS Innovation Fund for Medical Sciences CIFMS-2021-I2M-1-001Jiangsu Provincial Medical Key Laboratory, and the Jiangsu Province Capability Improvement Project through Science, Technology and Education ZDXYS202204Key Research and Development Program of the Yunnan Province Science and Technology Department 202403AC100011Special Research Fund for Central Universities, Peking Union Medical College 3332023077
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Syphilis self-testing (SST) facilitates screening accessibility among key populations (such as men who have sex with men, female sex workers, etc.). SST kits are readily available on several prominent e-commerce platforms in China. This study aims to compare the differences of diagnostic performance between kits obtained online or based on facilities, which provided evidence for the expanding application of SST in China. Utilizing the HONcode standard, we developed a quality assessment scale to evaluate the service quality of online SST kits. Furthermore, we assessed the diagnostic performance of them compared with facility-based kits, using TPPA as the gold standard. The online sales data showed that the after-sales reviews for SST kits accounted for only 5.5% of HIV self-testing kits and 17% of HIV/syphilis dual-testing kits. Quality assessment results indicated scale scores ranging from 31 to 44 for these SST kits, reflecting satisfactory service quality. The sensitivity and specificity of eight online kits were 94.85%-100% and 98.90%-100%, respectively, and the nine facility-based testing kits were 91.91%-100% and 97.81%-100%, respectively. The online SST kits demonstrated satisfactory quality and diagnostic performance, which provide evidence for promoting the utilization among key populations in China.

Indexed as

Reagent Kits, DiagnosticSelf-TestingSyphilisSyphilis SerodiagnosisChinaCommerceFemaleHumansMaleSensitivity and SpecificityReagent Kits, DiagnosticDiagnostic performanceQuality scaleSelf-testingSyphilis

Identifiers

PMID41866354
PMCPMC13149501

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.