title: Comparison of self-obtained penile-meatal swabs to urine for the detection of C. trachomatis, N. gonorrhoeae and T. vaginalis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Self-obtained penile-meatal swabs and urine specimens have been used for Chlamydia trachomatis (CT), Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG) and Trichomonas vaginalis (TV) for outreach screening in men.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To compare the sensitivity of self-collected male penile-meatal swabs and urine for the detection of CT, NG and TV.
  
  
  METHODS
  Matching penile-meatal swabs and urines were collected at home after recruitment to the study; via the internet programme, http://www.iwantthekit.org. The instructions directed the participant to place the tip of a Copan flocked swab at the meatal opening of the urethra to collect the penile-meatal sample. Two ml of urine was collected after the swab onto a Copan sponge-on-a-shaft collection device. Both swab and urine were placed into individual Aptima transport media tubes and mailed to the laboratory for testing. All specimens were tested for CT and NG using the GenProbe Aptima Combo2 Assay and for TV using GenProbe Aptima Analyte Specific Reagents with TV oligonucleotides.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of 634 men, 86 (13.6%) were positive for CT, 9 (1.4%) were positive for NG and 56 (9.3%) positive for TV. For CT, swab sensitivity was 81/86 (94.2%), and urine sensitivity was 66/86 (76.7%). For NG, swab sensitivity was 9/9 (100%) and urine sensitivity was 8/9 (88.9%). For TV, swab sensitivity was 45/56 (80.4%) and urine sensitivity was 22/56 (39.3%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Self-obtained penile-meatal swabs provided for the detection of more CT, NG and TV, than urine specimens.
authors.affiliation: Division of Infectious Diseases, School of Medicine, 855 North Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD 21205-2196, USA.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Dize
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Agreda
authors.forename: Nicole
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Quinn
authors.forename: Mathilda R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Barnes
authors.forename: Yu-Hsiang
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Hsieh
authors.forename: Charlotte A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Gaydos
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000554:Ambulatory Care Facilities; D002692:Chlamydia trachomatis / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009344:Neisseria gonorrhoeae / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D021141:Nucleic Acid Amplification Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D010413:Penis / Q000382:microbiology / Q000469:parasitology; D012648:Self Care; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013048:Specimen Handling / Q000379:methods*; D014246:Trichomonas vaginalis / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D014521:Urethra / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000469:parasitology*
keywords: Chlamydia Trachomatis; Diagnosis; Neisseria Gonorrhoea; Trichomonas