Self-Collected Specimens for Infectious Disease Testing

Self-collected specimens for infectious disease testing are becoming more commonplace. There are multiple published studies demonstrating that self-collected vaginal swabs for detection of sexually transmitted pathogens are as accurate as physician-collected endocervical swabs. Similarly, self-collected penile-meatal swabs are also acceptable for detecting sexually transmitted pathogens; however, unlike self-collected vaginal swabs, penile-meatal swabs are not considered an “on-label” specimen for U.S.
Source: Clinical Microbiology Newsletter - Category: Microbiology Authors: Source Type: news