Independent clinic-based evaluation of dual POCTs for screening for HIV and syphilis in men who have sex with men in Italy, Malta, Peru, and the United Kingdom
BMC Infectious Diseases·
- DOI
- 10.1186/s12879-024-09019-3
- PMID
- 38418941
- PMCID
- PMC10902927
- OpenAlex
- W4392770421
- Study type
- Meta-analysis
- Publisher
- Springer Science and Business Media LLC
- Article type
- journal-article
- Integrity
- current
Why this research matters now
Dual point-of-care tests could serve as a cost-effective, patient-friendly, and provider-friendly alternative to conventional testing in clinical and field settings, particularly in resource-limited environments where validated screening tools may help reduce HIV and syphilis incidence.
Structured evidence summary
Research question
The study evaluated the performance, acceptability, and operational characteristics of two dual point-of-care tests for HIV and syphilis screening among men who have sex with men across four countries.
Study design
Cross-sectional study enrolling 2,577 men who have sex with men at seven clinic sites. Finger prick blood was tested with point-of-care tests and compared against standard laboratory investigations on venepuncture blood. Diagnostic meta-analysis combined data from the evaluation sites.
Population and setting
Men who have sex with men presenting to seven clinic sites in Italy, Malta, Peru, and the United Kingdom.
Main findings
For the Bioline test, pooled sensitivity and specificity were 98.95% and 99.89% for HIV, and 73.79% and 99.57% for syphilis. For the Chembio test, pooled sensitivity and specificity were 98.66% and 99.55% for HIV, and 78.60% and 99.48% for syphilis. Both tests detected over 90% of probable active syphilis cases. Three-quarters of participants preferred the dual tests due to convenience, and operational characteristics were acceptable to healthcare providers.
Public-health relevance
Dual point-of-care tests could serve as a cost-effective, patient-friendly, and provider-friendly alternative to conventional testing in clinical and field settings, particularly in resource-limited environments where validated screening tools may help reduce HIV and syphilis incidence.
Important limitations
This summary is limited to the supplied single-article abstract and metadata and requires the original paper for decision-grade interpretation.
GIDS interpretation
Classifier links identify this article as relevant to AIDS and syphilis diagnostics and treatment in Italy, Malta, Peru, and the United Kingdom, supporting discovery of dual-testing literature within those disease and geographic categories.
Related GIDS surveillance
Literature context does not validate, explain, or change a surveillance signal. Exact and contextual relationships are shown separately.
Evidence relationships
This article has 14 auditable classifier relationships to diseases, places, topics, and study design.