A comparison of cotton and flocked swabs for vaginal self-sample collection.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

Vaginal self-sampling for human papillomavirus (HPV) testing has recently been proposed to optimize cervical cancer screening coverage. The objective of this study was to compare the performance of self-taken samples using flocked and cotton swabs for HPV detection and cellular retrieval.

Methods

We recruited women aged 21-65 years, referred to colposcopy at the Division of Gynecology of the Geneva University Hospitals between May and September 2016. Each participant collected 2 vaginal samples: 1 with a cotton swab and 1 with a flocked swab. A 1:1 randomization determined the order in which the 2 samples were taken. The swabs were introduced into a 20 mL PreservCyt^® vial. Real-time polymerase chain reaction analysis using the Anyplex™ II HPV HR assay, c

SUBMITTER: Viviano M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5960235 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature