RESUMO
We assessed the agreement in detection of high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV), as well as specific HPV types, between self- and clinician-obtained specimens for 450 women over 18 years of age attending a community health center in Gugulethu, South Africa. Both self-collected swabs and tampons had high agreement with clinician-obtained brushes when the Roche Reverse Line Blot Assay (RLBA) was used (for swabs, 86% concordance, with a kappa statistic [kappa] of 0.71; for tampons, 89% concordance, with kappa of 0.75). Agreement was lower, although still fair, with the Digene Hybrid Capture 2 test (HC2), with kappa higher for swabs than for tampons (for swabs, 81% concordance, with kappa of 0.61; for tampons, 82% concordance, with kappa of 0.55). Low-risk HPV types were nearly two times more common in self-collected specimens than in clinician-collected specimens tested by RLBA. All 15 women diagnosed with high-grade lesions by cytology tested positive for high-risk HPV with clinician-collected specimens tested by RLBA and HC2, while 11 out of 15 tested positive with self-collected specimens by HC2 and 5 out of 6 tested positive by RLBA. Self-collected specimens can provide valid specimens for HPV testing using nucleic acid amplification tests, although a few cytological abnormalities may be missed.
Assuntos
Papillomaviridae/classificação , Papillomaviridae/isolamento & purificação , Infecções por Papillomavirus , Autocuidado , Manejo de Espécimes/métodos , Displasia do Colo do Útero , Adolescente , Adulto , Idoso , DNA Viral/análise , Feminino , Humanos , Produtos de Higiene Menstrual , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Técnicas de Amplificação de Ácido Nucleico/métodos , Papillomaviridae/genética , Infecções por Papillomavirus/diagnóstico , Infecções por Papillomavirus/epidemiologia , Infecções por Papillomavirus/patologia , Infecções por Papillomavirus/virologia , Reprodutibilidade dos Testes , Fatores de Risco , Sensibilidade e Especificidade , África do Sul/epidemiologia , Esfregaço Vaginal , Displasia do Colo do Útero/diagnóstico , Displasia do Colo do Útero/epidemiologia , Displasia do Colo do Útero/patologia , Displasia do Colo do Útero/virologiaRESUMO
OBJECTIVES: To assess the validity, feasibility, and acceptability of 2 methods of self-sampling compared to clinician sampling during a speculum examination. GOAL: To improve screening for reproductive tract infections (RTIs) in resource-poor settings. STUDY DESIGN: In a public clinic in Cape Town, 450 women underwent a speculum examination and were randomized to self-sample with either a tampon or vaginal swabs. All specimens were tested for the same pathogens using the same diagnostic tests. RESULTS: Self-sampling resulted in satisfactory validity for N gonorrhoeae, C trachomatis, bacterial vaginosis, and Candida species (tampons and swabs) and high-risk human papillomavirus (swabs only) when tested with molecular tests or microscopy, but not for T vaginalis by culture. Self-sampling was feasible and acceptable, but some women preferred speculum examinations, which allow the clinician to view the vagina and cervix. CONCLUSIONS: Although self-sampling should not replace speculum examinations in all circumstances, it should be explored further as an RTI screening strategy.