{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,13]],"date-time":"2026-10-13T19:18:45Z","timestamp":1791919125263,"version":"4.3.4"},"reference-count":10,"publisher":"BMJ","issue":"4","funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100000272","name":"National Institute for Health Research","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","award":["NIHR203171"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["NIHR203171"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100000272","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["bmj.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Sex Transm Infect"],"accepted":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,13]]},"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,6]]},"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Objective<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>To assess the views of men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender women (TGW) on acceptability of using meatal swabs compared with first-catch urine (FCU), and acceptability and accuracy of pooling three-site samples compared with individually analysed samples, for gonorrhoea and chlamydia detection, using a questionnaire.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Prospective, convenience, sample of MSM\/TGW attending UK sexual health clinic. Randomised order of self-taken samples from the pharynx and rectum, plus self-taken penile-meatal swab and FCU, for gonorrhoea and chlamydia detection. Participants were then asked to complete a questionnaire on acceptability and ease of taking the meatal swabs compared with FCU samples, and the pooling processes compared with individual samples.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Questionnaire completion was 426\/432 (98.6%) of participants offered it. Over 90% reported: finding written instructions and diagrams about taking the meatal swab clear and easy to follow; feeling confident about taking the meatal swab; finding written instructions and diagrams of how to pool the samples clear and easy to follow; and being confident about pooling the samples.<\/jats:p>\n                    <jats:p>When asked \u2018If the pooled sample with the meatal swab was the same at finding chlamydia as the pooled sample with the urine\u2019 50% would prefer the meatal swab, 42% preferred urine and 8% had no preference. When asked \u2018If the pooled sample with the meatal swab was better at finding chlamydia than the pooled sample with the urine\u2019 86% would prefer the meatal swab, 12% preferred urine and 2% had no preference.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>In this first study to assess people\u2019s views of taking their own penile-meatal swab versus FCU, the MSM\/TGW participants found taking meatal swabs was easy and acceptable and a small majority preferred them to FCU even if no improved diagnostic sensitivity over urine. These results challenge the conventional thinking that urine is the preferred urogenital sample in MSM\/TGW.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1136\/sextrans-2025-056613","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,3]],"date-time":"2025-09-03T17:20:34Z","timestamp":1756920034000},"page":"251-254","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1136\/crossmarkpolicy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["Participant acceptability questionnaire results from the Meatal swab Yourself with Testing for Infections Collectively (MYSTIC) study: a diagnostic accuracy study of rectal and pharyngeal swabs pooled with meatal swabs, or first-catch urine, for gonorrhoea and chlamydia detection"],"prefix":"10.1136","volume":"102","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9865-0834","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Janet","family":"Wilson","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Genitourinary Medicine, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, Leeds, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Rudy","family":"Graves","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, Leeds, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Caroline","family":"Stott","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, Leeds, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0955-6307","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Daniel","family":"Richardson","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Sexual Health and HIV, University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust, Brighton, UK"},{"name":"Sexual Health and HIV Medicine, Brighton and Sussex Medical School, Brighton, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0007-1234-0642","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Harriet","family":"Wallace","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Genitourinary Medicine, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, Leeds, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"239","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,3]]},"reference":[{"key":"2026051905450672000_102.4.251.1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1093\/cid\/ciaa1266"},{"key":"2026051905450672000_102.4.251.2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1097\/OLQ.0b013e31822a2b2e"},{"key":"2026051905450672000_102.4.251.3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1093\/cid\/ciaa1546"},{"key":"2026051905450672000_102.4.251.4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1136\/sextrans-2017-053303"},{"key":"2026051905450672000_102.4.251.5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Rayo E , Malingamba G , Marti H , et al . Chlamydia trachomatis and neisseria gonorrhoeae bacterial loads in co-infected men who have sex with men on pre-exposure prophylaxis: a cross-sectional study. medRxiv [Preprint] 2025. doi:10.1101\/2025.02.25.25322838","DOI":"10.1101\/2025.02.25.25322838"},{"key":"2026051905450672000_102.4.251.6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1128\/JCM.02460-15"},{"key":"2026051905450672000_102.4.251.7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1186\/s12916-021-02160-9"},{"key":"2026051905450672000_102.4.251.8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1136\/sextrans-2012-050686"},{"key":"2026051905450672000_102.4.251.9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1136\/sextrans-2012-050573"},{"key":"2026051905450672000_102.4.251.10","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1136\/sextrans-2024-056330"}],"container-title":["Sexually Transmitted Infections"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/syndication.highwire.org\/content\/doi\/10.1136\/sextrans-2025-056613","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,19]],"date-time":"2026-05-19T12:46:09Z","timestamp":1779194769000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/sti.bmj.com\/lookup\/doi\/10.1136\/sextrans-2025-056613"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,3]]},"references-count":10,"journal-issue":{"issue":"4","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,19]]},"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,6]]}},"alternative-id":["10.1136\/sextrans-2025-056613"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1136\/sextrans-2025-056613","relation":{},"ISSN":["1368-4973","1472-3263"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1368-4973","type":"print"},{"value":"1472-3263","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,3]]}}}