Effectiveness of biological material self-collection in men for diagnosis of sexually transmitted infections

Objective. To analyze the effectiveness of detecting STIs pathogens in men using molecular biological method in biological material from urethra collected by health care workers compared to the first portion of urine self-collected by patients. Material and methods. The number of men equal 110 (18-70 years old) who visited dermatovenerologist for STIs testing was examined. Biological material from the urethra was collected by health care workers, self-collection (the first portion of urine) was made by patients. Multiplex real-time PCR was used to identify simultaneously N. gonorrhoeae, C. trachomatis, M. genitalium and T. vaginalis in quantity and quality. Patients’ adherence to biomaterial self-collection method for STIs diagnosis was assessed using questionnaire. Results. STIs were detected in 40 (36.4%) of 110 men. The proportion of coincidence of laboratory investigations for STIs when testing biomaterial obtained by health care worker and by self-collection method was in general 95.6%, for C. trachomatis 94.1% (16/17), for M. genitalium 75% (3/4), for N. gonorrhoeae 100% (24/24), T. vaginalis weren’t detected. The bacterial load of C. trachomatis and N. gonorrhoeae in the material from urethra of men collected by health care workers was significantly higher (p<0.001) than in urine obtained by patient’s self-collection. A high patients’ compliance to biomaterial self-collection method has been established, which was confirmed by its estimation as more comfortable compared to the routine method (82.7% of patients) with the possibility to perform the procedure outside of the medical facility (64.5% of patients). Conclusion. Comparability of the results of STIs pathogens detection by molecular biological method in biological material of male patients collected by health care worker and patient has been shown. Non-invasiveness and high compliance are the advantages of biological material self-collection.