{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,25]],"date-time":"2026-08-25T14:37:06Z","timestamp":1787668626595,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":15,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"9","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,9,27]],"date-time":"2021-09-27T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1632700800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/100009633","name":"Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["U19HD089886"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["U19HD089886"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100009633","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.plosone.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLoS ONE"],"abstract":"<jats:sec id=\"sec001\">\n<jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n<jats:p>The COVID-19 pandemic illuminated the benefits of telemedicine. Self-collected specimens are a promising alternative to clinician-collected specimens when in-person testing is not feasible. In this study, we assessed the adequacy of self-collected pharyngeal and rectal specimens for the detection of <jats:italic>Chlamydia trachomatis<\/jats:italic> and <jats:italic>Neisseria gonorrhoeae<\/jats:italic> among individuals undergoing chlamydia and gonorrhea screening.<\/jats:p>\n<\/jats:sec>\n<jats:sec id=\"sec002\">\n<jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n<jats:p>We used data from a large cohort study that included male and female adolescents between the ages of 12\u201324 years. We considered self-collected specimens adequate for clinical use if the human synthase gene (a control target of the assay) was detected in the specimen.<\/jats:p>\n<\/jats:sec>\n<jats:sec id=\"sec003\">\n<jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n<jats:p>In total, 2,458 specimens were included in the analysis. The human synthase gene was detected in 99.2% (2,439\/2,458) of all self-collected specimens, 99.5% (1,108\/1,114) of the pharyngeal specimens, and 99.0% (1,331\/1,344) of the rectal specimens.<\/jats:p>\n<\/jats:sec>\n<jats:sec id=\"sec004\">\n<jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n<jats:p>Self-collected pharyngeal and rectal specimens demonstrated a very high proportion of human gene presence, suggesting that self-collection was accurate. A limitation of this study is that the sample adequacy control detects the presence or absence of the human hydroxymethylbilane synthase gene, but it does not indicate the specific anatomic origin of the human hydroxymethylbilane synthase gene. Self-collected specimens may be an appropriate alternative to clinician-collected specimens.<\/jats:p>\n<\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0255878","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,9,27]],"date-time":"2021-09-27T17:38:50Z","timestamp":1632764330000},"page":"e0255878","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":6,"title":["Adolescents may accurately self-collect pharyngeal and rectal clinical specimens for the detection of Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae infection"],"prefix":"10.1371","volume":"16","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3491-0286","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Gabriella","family":"Vavala","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Cameron","family":"Goldbeck","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Claire C.","family":"Bristow","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Chrysovalantis","family":"Stafylis","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2776-6458","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Paul C.","family":"Adamson","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Dianna","family":"Polanco","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Manuel A.","family":"Ocasio","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jasmine","family":"Fournier","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Adriana","family":"Romero-Espinoza","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Risa","family":"Flynn","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Robert","family":"Bolan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"M. Isabel","family":"Fernandez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Dallas","family":"Swendeman","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"W. Scott","family":"Comulada","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sung-Jae","family":"Lee","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mary Jane","family":"Rotheram-Borus","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jeffrey D.","family":"Klausner","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"name":"the Adolescent Medicine Trials Network (ATN) CARES Team","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"340","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,9,27]]},"reference":[{"issue":"S1","key":"pone.0255878.ref001","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"S26","DOI":"10.1089\/pop.2020.0296","article-title":"Evolution of Specimen Self-Collection in the COVID-19 Era: Implications for Population Health Management of Infectious Disease","volume":"24","author":"F.R. Cockerill","year":"2021","journal-title":"Popul Health Manag"},{"issue":"8","key":"pone.0255878.ref002","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"493","DOI":"10.1097\/OLQ.0b013e3181a44b8c","article-title":"High performance and acceptability of self-collected rectal swabs for diagnosis of Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae in men who have sex with men and women","volume":"36","author":"J.J. van der Helm","year":"2009","journal-title":"Sex Transm Dis"},{"issue":"1","key":"pone.0255878.ref003","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"60","DOI":"10.1136\/sti.2008.032193","article-title":"Self-sampling for oropharyngeal and rectal specimens to screen for sexually transmitted infections: acceptability among men who have sex with men","volume":"85","author":"S. Wayal","year":"2009","journal-title":"Sex Transm Infect"},{"issue":"6","key":"pone.0255878.ref004","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"488","DOI":"10.1136\/sti.2008.031443","article-title":"Self-taken pharyngeal and rectal swabs are appropriate for the detection of Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae in asymptomatic men who have sex with men.","volume":"84","author":"S. Alexander","year":"2008","journal-title":"Sex Transm Infect"},{"issue":"6","key":"pone.0255878.ref005","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1657","DOI":"10.1128\/JCM.02269-08","article-title":"Evaluation of self-collected glans and rectal swabs from men who have sex with men for detection of Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae by use of nucleic acid amplification tests","volume":"47","author":"J. Moncada","year":"2009","journal-title":"J Clin Microbiol"},{"issue":"11","key":"pone.0255878.ref006","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1036","DOI":"10.1097\/OLQ.0b013e318227713e","article-title":"Evaluation of self-collected versus clinician-collected swabs for the detection of Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae pharyngeal infection among men who have sex with men.","volume":"38","author":"A.H. Freeman","year":"2011","journal-title":"Sex Transm Dis,"},{"issue":"12","key":"pone.0255878.ref007","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e0189515","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0189515","article-title":"Comparing mail-in self-collected specimens sent via United States Postal Service versus clinic-collected specimens for the detection of Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae in extra-genital sites","volume":"12","author":"K.R. Salow","year":"2017","journal-title":"PLoS One"},{"issue":"12","key":"pone.0255878.ref008","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e0244417","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0244417","article-title":"The accuracy of healthcare worker versus self collected (2-in-1) Oropharyngeal and Bilateral Mid-Turbinate (OPMT) swabs and saliva samples for SARS-CoV-2","volume":"15","author":"S.Y. Tan","year":"2020","journal-title":"PLoS One"},{"issue":"2","key":"pone.0255878.ref009","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"573","DOI":"10.1128\/JCM.02500-14","article-title":"Equal performance of self-collected and health care worker-collected pharyngeal swabs for group a streptococcus testing by PCR","volume":"53","author":"M.A. Murray","year":"2015","journal-title":"J Clin Microbiol"},{"issue":"3","key":"pone.0255878.ref010","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e10795","DOI":"10.2196\/10795","article-title":"Community-Based, Point-of-Care Sexually Transmitted Infection Screening Among High-Risk Adolescents in Los Angeles and New Orleans: Protocol for a Mixed-Methods Study","volume":"8","author":"C.L. Shannon","year":"2019","journal-title":"JMIR Res Protoc"},{"issue":"2","key":"pone.0255878.ref011","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e10791","DOI":"10.2196\/10791","article-title":"The Stepped Care Intervention to Suppress Viral Load in Youth Living With HIV: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial","volume":"8","author":"E.M. Arnold","year":"2019","journal-title":"JMIR Res Protoc"},{"issue":"1","key":"pone.0255878.ref012","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"4","DOI":"10.1186\/1756-3305-5-4","article-title":"Real-time PCR of the mammalian hydroxymethylbilane synthase (HMBS) gene for analysis of flea (Ctenocephalides felis) feeding patterns on dogs","volume":"5","author":"C. Wang","year":"2012","journal-title":"Parasites & Vectors"},{"issue":"4","key":"pone.0255878.ref013","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.15406\/jmen.2014.01.00026","article-title":"Characteristics of the Sample Adequacy Control (SAC) in the Cepheid Xpert\u00ae CT\/NG Assay in Female Urine Specimens","volume":"1","author":"C. C Bristow","year":"2014","journal-title":"Journal of Microbiology & Experimentation"},{"issue":"2","key":"pone.0255878.ref014","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"83","DOI":"10.1016\/j.diagmicrobio.2017.10.013","article-title":"Comparison of the Cepheid GeneXpert CT\/NG assay to the Hologic Aptima Combo2 assay for the detection of Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae in self-collected rectal swabs","volume":"90","author":"L. Dize","year":"2018","journal-title":"Diagn Microbiol Infect Dis"},{"issue":"1","key":"pone.0255878.ref015","first-page":"1021","article-title":"Validation of the GeneXpert\u00ae CT\/NG Assay for use with Male Pharyngeal and Rectal Swabs","volume":"3","author":"S.D. Geiger R","year":"2016","journal-title":"Austin J of HIV AIDS Res."}],"container-title":["PLOS ONE"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/dx.plos.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.0255878","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2021,9,27]],"date-time":"2021-09-27T17:39:02Z","timestamp":1632764342000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/dx.plos.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.0255878"}},"subtitle":[],"editor":[{"given":"Tania","family":"Crucitti","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"editor"}]}],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2021,9,27]]},"references-count":15,"journal-issue":{"issue":"9","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,9,27]]}},"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.0255878","relation":{},"ISSN":["1932-6203"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1932-6203","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2021,9,27]]}}}