Prevalence of chlamydial, gonococcal and syphilis positivity by anatomical site and sex via self-collected biospecimens using at-home testing kits among a large and diverse cohort of men and women enrolled in the MACS/WIHS Combined Cohort Study (MWCCS) in the USA
Mimiaga et al.
The finding, in our words
The study found that self-collection of dried blood spots and other samples using at-home kits was a useful and cost-effective method for screening a large cohort for sexually transmitted infections outside a clinic. This demonstrates the feasibility of decentralised, patient-centric sampling for population-level infectious disease surveillance.
A paraphrase to the Library’s standard, never the abstract. The source is one link away and is always the authority.
Among 92 patients on HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis, 79.3 per cent returned home-collected kits comprising dried blood spots, urine, and oropharyngeal swabs. Nearly 87.7 per cent were extremely to moderately satisfied with avoiding clinic visits, and mean turnaround fell from 17 to 5 days, showing self-collection is a feasible, patient-centric model for decentralised sexual health and SARS-CoV-2 screening.
Saberi et al., Open forum infectious diseases · source ↗
This pilot study demonstrated that a fully remote web-based testing programme for sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections was feasible and acceptable overall, although participants encountered specific collection challenges with the dried blood spot component.
Christensen et al., International journal of STD & AIDS · source ↗
This narrative review surveys remote biospecimen collection products for sexual health research, including dried blood spots and volumetric absorptive microsampling, and concludes that successful implementation needs a multidisciplinary, participant-centred team with sufficient time allocated to the complexities of collection procedures and processes.
Horvath et al., AIDS and behavior (paywalled) · source ↗
The study found that DBS testing showed high specificity for HIV, HBV and HCV and perfect sensitivity for HIV and HBV, but lower sensitivity for syphilis and HCV, with creatinine measurements slightly higher than venous samples. Despite challenges in sample adequacy, DBS was acceptable to participants and could support decentralised STI and renal monitoring in men who have sex with men.
Nieuwenburg et al., Sexually transmitted diseases · source ↗
Self-collected dried blood spots were used to assess HIV status at 12 months in 1168 participants. Integration of sexual and reproductive health services increased linkage to HIV prevention care within 60 days (adjusted odds ratio 1·68) compared with standard referral, whereas peer support had no effect.
Shahmanesh et al., The lancet. HIV (paywalled) · source ↗