Andersson P; Tong SYC; Lilliebridge RA; Brenner NC; Martin LM; Spencer, Emma; Delima, Jennifer; Singh, Gurmeet; McCann F; Hudson C; Johns T; Giffard PM

Author(s)

Andersson P

Tong SYC

Lilliebridge RA

Brenner NC

Martin LM

Spencer, Emma

Delima, Jennifer

Singh, Gurmeet

McCann F

Hudson C

Johns T

Giffard PM

Publication Date

2014-09-01

Abstract

The detection of a sexually transmitted infection (STI) agent in a urine specimen from a young child is regarded as an indicator of sexual contact. False positives may conceivably arise from the transfer of environmental contaminants in clinic toilet or bathroom facilities into urine specimens. The potential for contamination of urine specimens with environmental STI nucleic acid was tested empirically in the male and female toilets or bathrooms at 10 Northern Territory (Australia) clinics, on 7 separate occasions at each. At each of the 140 experiments, environmental contamination with Chlamydia trachomatis, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, and Trichomonas vaginalis nucleic acid contamination was determined by swabbing 10 locations, and urine collection was simulated 5 times, using a (1) synthetic urine surrogate and (2) a standardized finger contamination procedure. The most contaminated toilets and bathrooms were in remote Indigenous communities. No contamination was found in the Northern Territory Government Sexual Assault Referral Centre clinics, and intermediate levels of contamination were found in sexual health clinics and in clinics in regional urban centres. The frequency of surrogate urine sample contamination was low but non-zero. For example, 4 of 558 of the urine surrogate specimens from remote clinics were STI positive. This is by far the largest study addressing the potential environmental contamination of urine samples with STI agents. Positive STI tests arising from environmental contamination of urine specimens cannot be ruled out. The results emphasize that urine specimens from young children taken for STI testing should be obtained by trained staff in clean environments, and duplicate specimens should be obtained if possible.

Citation

J Pediatric Infect Dis Soc . 2014 Sep;3(3):189-96. doi: 10.1093/jpids/pit085. Epub 2013 Dec 19.

Pubmed ID

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25349693/?otool=iaurydwlib

Link

https://hdl.handle.net/10137/5545

Subject

contamination

diagnosis

false positive

sexually transmitted infection

urine

Title

Multisite Direct Determination of the Potential for Environmental Contamination of Urine Samples Used for Diagnosis of Sexually Transmitted Infections.

Type of document

Journal Article

Entity Type

Publication

Author(s)	Andersson P Tong SYC Lilliebridge RA Brenner NC Martin LM Spencer, Emma Delima, Jennifer Singh, Gurmeet McCann F Hudson C Johns T Giffard PM
Publication Date	2014-09-01
Abstract	The detection of a sexually transmitted infection (STI) agent in a urine specimen from a young child is regarded as an indicator of sexual contact. False positives may conceivably arise from the transfer of environmental contaminants in clinic toilet or bathroom facilities into urine specimens. The potential for contamination of urine specimens with environmental STI nucleic acid was tested empirically in the male and female toilets or bathrooms at 10 Northern Territory (Australia) clinics, on 7 separate occasions at each. At each of the 140 experiments, environmental contamination with Chlamydia trachomatis, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, and Trichomonas vaginalis nucleic acid contamination was determined by swabbing 10 locations, and urine collection was simulated 5 times, using a (1) synthetic urine surrogate and (2) a standardized finger contamination procedure. The most contaminated toilets and bathrooms were in remote Indigenous communities. No contamination was found in the Northern Territory Government Sexual Assault Referral Centre clinics, and intermediate levels of contamination were found in sexual health clinics and in clinics in regional urban centres. The frequency of surrogate urine sample contamination was low but non-zero. For example, 4 of 558 of the urine surrogate specimens from remote clinics were STI positive. This is by far the largest study addressing the potential environmental contamination of urine samples with STI agents. Positive STI tests arising from environmental contamination of urine specimens cannot be ruled out. The results emphasize that urine specimens from young children taken for STI testing should be obtained by trained staff in clean environments, and duplicate specimens should be obtained if possible.
Citation	J Pediatric Infect Dis Soc . 2014 Sep;3(3):189-96. doi: 10.1093/jpids/pit085. Epub 2013 Dec 19.
Pubmed ID	https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25349693/?otool=iaurydwlib
Link	https://hdl.handle.net/10137/5545
Subject	contamination diagnosis false positive sexually transmitted infection urine
Title	Multisite Direct Determination of the Potential for Environmental Contamination of Urine Samples Used for Diagnosis of Sexually Transmitted Infections.
Type of document	Journal Article
Entity Type	Publication

Multisite Direct Determination of the Potential for Environmental Contamination of Urine Samples Used for Diagnosis of Sexually Transmitted Infections.

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