Study Evaluating Self-Collected Specimen Return for HIV, Bacterial STI, and Potential Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis Adherence Testing Among Sexual Minority Men in the United States

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.

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., Sexually transmitted infections (paywalled) · source ↗

• blood
• sti
• dbs
• self-collection
• dried
• serology
• bd-microtainer
• urine

This retrospective analysis of over 600,000 online postal self-sampling orders found that whilst return rates for urine samples were moderate to high, the return of processable blood samples was significantly lower and varied by age and deprivation level.

Factors associated with the online postal self-sampling testing cascade in England, 2022: a retrospective observational study of routinely collected service-level healthcare data — Gibbs et al., Sexually transmitted infections (paywalled) · source ↗

• blood
• sti
• self-collection
• serology
• urine

Sexual minority men found finger-stick blood and rectal swabs more challenging to self-collect than other specimens. Barriers to returning samples included low confidence in self-collection and concerns about transit delays, while motivators were status confirmation and limited clinic access; real-time video support could improve uptake in future decentralised testing programmes.

Perceptions and Experiences of Returning Self-collected Specimens for HIV, Bacterial STI and Potential PrEP Adherence Testing among Sexual Minority Men in the United States — Sharma et al., AIDS and behavior · source ↗

• blood
• urine
• self-collection
• acceptability
• serology
• sti

The pilot study provided evidence that a dry-stored, self-collected vaginal swab could assist detection of Chlamydia trachomatis when compared with clinician-collected discharge, first-catch urine and blood serology, potentially reducing privacy barriers and removing cold-chain requirements for screening in remote areas.

A pilot clinical validation study of a self-collected vaginal swab device for the detection of <i>chlamydia trachomatis</i> in women — Muljadi et al., Frontiers in bioengineering and biotechnology · source ↗

• blood
• sti
• self-collection
• dried
• serology
• urine
• validation

Higher engagement in regular HIV and STI testing was associated with incident STIs and health seeking behaviours, and participants rated self-sampling as convenient.

Regular Testing of HIV and Sexually Transmitted Infections With Self-Collected Samples From Multiple Anatomic Sites to Monitor Sexual Health in Men Who Have Sex With Men: Longitudinal Study — Wong et al., JMIR formative research · source ↗

• acceptability
• blood
• sti
• self-collection
• serology
• urine