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Contact the study team using the details below to take part. If there are no contact details below please ask your doctor in the first instance.
Infections with a predominantly sexual mode of transmission
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Testing for chlamydia and gonorrhoea in men who have sex with men (MSM) and trans women is recommended every three months for those taking HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP). Testing requires throat and bottom samples, and samples from the urethra (wee-pipe), usually a urine sample. However, many sexual health services struggle to afford the costs of these 3-samples, four-times per year, which may restrict numbers given PrEP.
Our previous research has shown that the 3-samples (throat, bottom, urine) can be combined into one pooled specimen to accurately find gonorrhoea and reduce laboratory costs. However, the chlamydia results of pooled samples were not as good, finding only 92 out of 100 infections compared with 99 out of 100 with 3 separate samples.
This study aims to improve the accuracy of chlamydia results by comparing two new pooling methods with the 3-samples tested separately.
MSM, and trans women, aged 18 years or over, attending our clinics for chlamydia and gonorrhoea testing will be invited to take part in the study. The pooling methods will be: 1) pooling with a smaller amount of urine to reduce the dilution of the other samples; and 2) pooling with a swab sample from the outside of the tip of the penis (meatal swab) instead of urine. Meatal swabs are taken by the person themselves. The swab does not go inside the penis so is easy to do and not painful. Studies suggest meatal swabs may be better at finding chlamydia than urine samples.
To ensure an accurate comparison, the order of taking the two pooling method samples, and the 3-samples tested separately, will be randomised.
We will recruit 1250 participants. This is a large enough number to show if either of the pooling methods can detect more chlamydia than 92 out of 100 infections.
Start dates may differ between countries and research sites. The research team are responsible for keeping the information up-to-date.
The recruitment start and end dates are as follows:
Interventional type: Other;
You can take part if:
You may not be able to take part if:
Antibiotics (except for metronidazole) taken in the past 14 days
Below are the locations for where you can take part in the trial. Please note that not all sites may be open.
The study is sponsored by LEEDS TEACHING HOSPITALS NHS TRUST and funded by NIHR Central Commissioning Facility (CCF) .
Your feedback is important to us. It will help us improve the quality of the study information on this site. Please answer both questions.
Read full details
for Trial ID: CPMS 56842
You can print or share the study information with your GP/healthcare provider or contact the research team directly.
