RESUMO
Men were enrolled in a study to assess the performance and acceptability of self-collected penile meatal swabs as compared to clinician-collected urethral swabs for sexually transmitted infections (STIs). We expected penile-meatal swabs to perform favorably to urethral swabs for Chlamydia trachomatis (CT), Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG), Trichomonas vaginalis (TV), and Mycoplasma genitalium (MG) detection by nucleic acid amplification assays (NAATs). Of 203 swab pairs tested; for CT, penile-meatal swab sensitivity was 96.8% and specificity was 98.8%. NG sensitivity and specificity were 100% and 98.9%, respectively. For TV, sensitivity was 85.0% and specificity was 96.7%. For MG sensitivity and specificity were 79.3% and 99.4%, respectively. No significant statistical differences between sample type accuracy (CT: P=0.625; NG: P=0.248; TV: P=0.344; and MG: P=0.070) existed. Most men, 90.1%, reported self-collection of penile-meatal swabs as "Very Easy" or "Easy". Self-collected penile-meatal swabs appeared acceptable for NAAT STI detection and an acceptable collection method by men.
Assuntos
Pênis/microbiologia , Pênis/parasitologia , Autoadministração/métodos , Infecções Sexualmente Transmissíveis/diagnóstico , Manejo de Espécimes/métodos , Adolescente , Adulto , Idoso , Chlamydia trachomatis/genética , Chlamydia trachomatis/isolamento & purificação , Humanos , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Mycoplasma genitalium/genética , Mycoplasma genitalium/isolamento & purificação , Neisseria gonorrhoeae/genética , Neisseria gonorrhoeae/isolamento & purificação , Técnicas de Amplificação de Ácido Nucleico , Sensibilidade e Especificidade , Trichomonas vaginalis/genética , Trichomonas vaginalis/isolamento & purificação , Adulto JovemRESUMO
Trichomonas vaginalis is the agent of a highly prevalent sexually transmitted infection (STI) that can result in vaginitis, urethritis, and preterm birth. Traditional methods of diagnosis, including wet preparation, can be unreliable. In this study, we describe the adaptation of an existing PCR method for specific detection of T. vaginalis DNA into a rapid real-time PCR assay based on fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) probe chemistry. The FRET-based assay described demonstrated high sensitivity with a detection limit of 1.06 organisms, as well as a high specificity. A total of 253 urine samples collected prospectively from both men and women were tested for T. vaginalis DNA with both the FRET-based assay and a previously validated PCR assay. When the validated PCR assay was used as the "gold standard" and after discrepancies had been resolved, our FRET-based assay demonstrated an analytical sensitivity and specificity of 90.1 and 100%, respectively. Overall results suggest that FRET-based assays can provide rapid, accurate, and high-throughput detection of T. vaginalis and may prove useful in clinical settings and for large-scale screening programs.
