Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Using The Internet To Test For STIs
Using The Internet To Test For STIs
com
Utilising the internet to test for sexually transmitted infections: results of a survey and accuracy testing
Sherria L Owens, Nick Arora, Nicole Quinn, et al. Sex Transm Infect 2010 86: 112-116 originally published online October 22, 2009
doi: 10.1136/sti.2009.037226
These include:
References
Receive free email alerts when new articles cite this article. Sign up in the box at the top right corner of the online article.
Notes
Utilising the internet to test for sexually transmitted infections: results of a survey and accuracy testing
Sherria L Owens,1 Nick Arora,2 Nicole Quinn,3 Rosanna W Peeling,4 King K Holmes,5 Charlotte A Gaydos3
1
Morgan State University, School of Community Health and Policy, Baltimore, Maryland, USA 2 Johns Hopkins University, Homewood Campus, Baltimore, Maryland, USA 3 Johns Hopkins University, Division of Infectious Diseases, Baltimore, Maryland, USA 4 The Sexually Transmitted Diseases Diagnostics Initiative, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland 5 University of Washington, Departments of Global Health and Medicine, Seattle, Washington, USA Correspondence to Dr Charlotte A Gaydos, Johns Hopkins University, Division of Infectious Diseases, International STD Laboratory, 530 Rangos Building, 855 North Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA; cgaydos@jhmi.edu Accepted 8 August 2009 Published Online First 22 October 2009
ABSTRACT Background Searching the internet for information about sexually transmitted infections (STI) is common. The goal of the study was to discover which internet sites offer STI tests and obtain information about the services and their validity. Methods Using internet web-based search engines, information was collected from the sites about STI testing services, costs and types of tests offered, and tests were evaluated for accuracy. Business functions regarding consent and return of results were investigated. Contact attempts were made by phone, e-mail or contact us links and by mail. Test kits were ordered from six commercial internet sites and one public health site. Their accuracy was evaluated for chlamydia and gonorrhoea. Results The study identied 27 national/international internet sites offering STI self-collection kits and services. Tests were available for gonorrhoea, syphilis, chlamydia, HIV, herpes, hepatitis viruses, trichomonas, mycoplasma and gardnerella. All attempts to administer the survey yielded unsatisfactory results. After sending the survey by mail/e-mail to all the sites, four responded, two with the survey. Six websites appeared invalid based on non-deliverable e-mails and returned letters. The remainder did not respond. Test results were obtained from ve of seven ordered kits. Two websites who were sent mocked urine specimens never provided results. The two perform-it-yourself kits yielded false-negative results. Two mail-in urine specimens yielded correct positive results. The public health site kit yielded correct positive results. Conclusions The internet STI testing sites were difcult to contact and demonstrated unwillingness to answer consumer-specic questions. Test accuracy varied, with home tests having poor accuracy and mail-in specimens demonstrating high accuracy.
Home testing may increase access to sexually transmitted infection (STI) testing, especially for adolescents.1 2 Often seen as an inexpensive and convenient alternative to a doctor visit, homebased, self-testing diagnostic tests may be the method of choice for some individuals. Home testing for those who are embarrassed or unwilling to go to a clinic could lead more people to get diagnosed and seek treatment.3e6 This may be appealing for adolescents, who are often at high risk of STI. The National Initiative to Improve Adolescent Health by 2010 has emphasised the need to reduce the proportion of adolescents and young adults with Chlamydia trachomatis infections and challenges the Nation to create new ideas,
112
methods, and strategies, to move forward promoting adolescent health.7 The majority of sexually active teens do not routinely seek screening or diagnostic testing for STI.4 Teen-friendly STI services are not often available, and satisfaction with healthcare providers and provider style is particularly important to teens.4 Private internet services thus offer alternatives to clinics, which require parental support and payment.5 Adults and adolescents are increasingly using the internet to search for information about health care and STI.8 People seeking sex partners also use the internet, and may appear to be at greater risk of STI.9 Internet-use statistics are staggering. According to the Pew American Life Project, 168 000 000 Americans use the internet per day and the number is growing at 63 000/day.10 Nearly all adolescents in the USA have gone online, 75% have a home computer,11 and internet communicating may lead to high-risk behaviour,12 especially for those seeking sex partners.9 A disproportionate number of adolescents, who were frequent chat-room-users have run away from home and experimented with drugs and alcohol.13 On the other hand, many adolescents have searched for accurate information about sex online.14 15 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Reports indicated that 47.8% of high school students have had sex.16 One study reported the average frequency of coital events was 0.94 per week17; young internet users seeking sex partners may be at high risk of STI.13 18 However, because the internet has the ability to provide accurate educational information, using it also to provide STI services has much appeal. New online offer STI testing services and clinics are available, where individuals can drop off selfcollected samples. Also accessible are internet sites that allow individuals to collect samples at home and mail them directly to a testing laboratory.19 Although some publicly funded services offer free testing, other home testing services may be expensive and are not regulated.20 We therefore sought to survey internet sites that offered self-collection/ testing to obtain information about their services. We subsequently investigated the reliability of such services by ordering and evaluating the accuracy of such test kits.
METHODS
We used several web-search engines (ie, Google, Yahoo, Ask, Dogpile and MSN), to identify internet sites offering tests for STI, and to obtain information about services, costs, accuracy, types of tests offered, privacy policies and return of test results. Internet business sites identied were contacted for
Sex Transm Infect 2010;86:112e116. doi:10.1136/sti.2009.037226
exempt for consent by the Johns Hopkins University Institutional Review Board.
11 5 1 2 1 1 1 13 6 0 US$299 (w160) STD panel includes chlamydia, gonorrhoea, herpes simplex 1 & 2, M genitalium, Ureaplasma urealyticum/parvum, trichomonas and gardnerella US$19 (w10) Chlamydia single test 1 (additional cost) 1 (external lab) 2 (results in seconds urinalysis) 9
9 8 2 4 0 0 0 10 2 2 US$399 (w214) STD panel includes HIV, gonorrhoea, chlamydia, syphilis, herpes 1 and herpes 2 Free chlamydia, gonorrhoea or trichomonas 0 1 4
23 17 4 6 1 1 1 27 9 2
Offers telephone consultations Uses external lab Additional testing offered, that is, fertility testing, drug testing, diabetic testing, etc
US$16.00 (w9) Bacteria (Escherichia coli, etc)US$22 (w12) chlamydia test 0 n/a 4
17
HAV, hepatitis A virus; HBV, hepatitis B virus; HCV, hepatitis C virus; HSV, herpes simplex virus; STD, sexually transmitted disease.
113
Treatment or follow-up
Results for the provision of treatment obtained from the website varied by site. Most sites offered no treatment options. One site reported see a healthcare professional for treatment as soon as possible when a positive gonorrhoea test was received. A couple offered more comprehensive follow-up, such as assistance in setting up a treatment appointment at a free clinic.
DISCUSSION
Phase one of this two-phase study demonstrated that most internet sites that provide testing for STI were hard to approach and contact directly. We have focused on understanding the entire process involved in using an internet site as a mode for STI testing. Our ndings should be useful for anyone considering accessing the internet for the diagnosis of STI. Earlier publications have demonstrated that urine can be used to test for several STI using NAAT; self-collected vaginal specimens have also been shown to be effective for the diagnosis of STI by NAAT; nger-stick whole blood can be used to screen for syphilis and oral uid can be used to screen for HIV infection.19 21e24 However, phase two of our study, for which we purchased test kits from the internet, demonstrated that the quality of internet STI testing services and of STI tests offered through the internet were often poor. There should be a mechanism in place to monitor and document the quality of tests being offered by these sites, such as state, federal, or international regulation, as well as required participation in prociency testing programmes. There is currently no mechanism worldwide for the regulation of products and services offered through the internet.20 From an STI prevention perspective, use of the internet to seek sexual partners has been shown to be associated with risks.9 15 18 However, internet use for STI information and testing may have potential benets. In order for internet sites to offer innovative, comprehensive and exible testing, internet website medical and laboratory directors and administrators need to be a part of the public health system for case reporting and disease control. This strategy could be enhanced by a social marketing campaign. The public currently has little means of measuring the success of internet-based disease control efforts. Enhanced oversight and surveillance is needed for those who use the internet for testing options and could improve the business aspect of the internet sites while helping with public health prevention efforts. The ndings in this report are subject to limitations. First, research results for phase one may not be generalisable due to low responder rates. Research on internet sites allows researchers to collect data in new ways, as it may provide anonymity to the participants. However, McFarlane et al9 demonstrated that initial
Sex Transm Infect 2010;86:112e116. doi:10.1136/sti.2009.037226
Survey responses
Of all 27 sites, only two, both US websites provided completed surveys. This refusal to participate was despite attempts to contact sites via the phone, by the websites listed contact information and by US and international postal systems. The two sites that responded used nucleic acid amplied tests (NAAT) for chlamydia and gonorrhoea. Collection devices/kits were supplied by the laboratories. Turnaround was 1e7 days for these sites, both of which were accredited by professional organisations and participated in laboratory prociency programmes. Both laboratories reported having quality assessment/continuous improvement plans, biosafety programmes and laboratory information systems. Both also reported the use of US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-cleared assays and electronic requests for tests.
114
Key messages
< The internet is becoming a portal that will be used more
sites offer kits for at-home testing; but it is difcult for consumers to contact these sites. < Often internet-solicited STI results are not accurate. < FDA clearance of self-collected urogenital swab specimens at home is required. Regulatory controls are needed to protect internet consumers from receiving inaccurate results. < With regulation, internet services could provide accurate results in a condential manner for those who are reluctant to use clinics for routine testing.
enhance post-diagnosis counselling and reporting mechanisms. We could not discover whether any sites offered assurance of treatment. Face-to-face counselling provides lasting networks of support and links individuals to services, and thus these counselling programmes should be made available to people after receiving test results through at-home collection methods, including internet recruitment, in order to serve public efforts at disease control. In summary, we found that STI testing services are available from the internet, and several sites offer STI kits for at-home testing; however, it maybe difcult for consumers to contact these sites and often the results are not accurate. The internet is becoming a portal that will be used more frequently for testing of STI. FDA clearance of self-collected urogenital swab specimens at home is badly needed to support better quality. We also recommend that regulatory controls be put in place to protect internet consumers from receiving inaccurate results, and to ensure that results are returned for purchased kits. With proper regulation, internet services could provide accurate, condential results for individuals who are reluctant to use clinical services or may not attend clinics for routine testing.
SHORT SUMMARY
National and international internet sites offering STI self-testing kits and testing services were surveyed and evaluated for test accuracy. Most sites were difcult to contact. Some sites offered perform-it-yourself kits that gave inaccurate results.
Contributors SLO and NA surveyed the internet sites, ordered kits, helped design the study and assisted with manuscript preparation; NQ performed the laboratory tests and assisted with manuscript preparation; RWP and KKH provided assistance in study design and manuscript preparation; CAG assisted in the design of the study, prepared the manuscript and had overall responsibility for the study. Competing interests CAG is the founder of one of the web sites reviewed: http://www.iwantthekit.org. Ethics approval This study was conducted with the approval of the rated as exempt for consent by Johns Hopkins Institutional Board. Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.
REFERENCES
1. 2. Jones HE, Altini L, de Kock A, et al. Home-based versus clinic-based self-sampling and testing for sexually transmitted infections in Gugulethu, South Africa: randomized trial. Sex Transm Infect 2007;83:552e7. Lippman SA, Jones HE, Luppi CG, et al. Home-based self-sampling and self-testing for sexually transmitted infections: acceptable and feasible alternatives to providerbased screening in low-income women in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Sex Transm Dis 2007;34:421e8. Millstein SG, Adler NE, Irwin CE Jr. Sources of anxiety about pelvic examinations among adolescent females. J Adolesc Health Care 1984;5:105e11.
3.
115
116