OBJECTIVES Immigrant and low socio-economic (SES) women in North America underutilize Papanicolaou screening. Vaginal swab self-sampling for oncogenic human papillomavirus (HPV) has the potential to increase cervical cancer screening participation. The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand the perceptions of lower SES and immigrant women regarding self-sampling for HPV. METHODS ...

OBJECTIVES Swab-based nasal screening is commonly used to identify asymptomatic carriage of Staphylococcus aureus in patients. Bacterial detection depends on the uptake and release capacities of the swabs and on the swabbing technique itself. This study investigates the performance of different swab-types in nasal MRSA-screening by utilizing a unique artificial nose model to provide realistic a...

Prior to implementation of volatile organic compound (VOC) analysis in clinical practice, substantial challenges, including methodological, biological and analytical difficulties are faced. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of several sampling conditions and environmental factors on fecal VOC profiles, analyzed by an electronic nose (eNose). Effects of fecal sample mass, water...

We set out to determine the prevalences of Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae by ligase chain reaction as well as to determine the prevalence of Trichomonas vaginalis by culture in a large and diverse national sample of non-health-care-seeking young women entering the military; we also sought to compare the abilities of three different techniques of collecting specimens (first-void...

The aim of this study was to determine whether a patient's endocervical swab specimen can be transported in first void urine (FVU) as combined specimens for the detection of Mycoplasma genitalium by real-time PCR. The study also compared two different DNA extraction methods for observation of possible PCR inhibition. Three specimens, one endocervical swab specimen transported in 2-SP medium, on...

The bacterial loads for gonococcal infections of the pharynx and rectum were determined among men with male sexual partners. The median bacterial load for rectal infections (18,960 copies/swab) was significantly higher than the load for pharyngeal infections (2,100 copies/swab; P = 0.001). Bacterial loads among men with symptomatic proctitis were strikingly high (median, 278,000 copies/swab).

BACKGROUND Human papillomavirus (HPV) self-sampling (self-HPV) is valuable in cervical cancer screening. HPV testing is usually performed on physician-collected cervical smears stored in liquid-based medium. Dry filters and swabs are an alternative. We evaluated the adequacy of self-HPV using two dry storage and transport devices, the FTA cartridge and swab. METHODS A total of 130 women perfo...