Comparative assessment of diagnostic accuracy of tests for sexually transmitted infections: Findings from a pilot study
ЖЖБИ анықтау әдістерінің диагностикалық дәлдігін салыстырмалы бағалау: пилоттық зерттеу нәтижелері
Сравнительная оценка диагностической точности методов тестирования на ИППП: результаты пилотного исследования
Dissyukeyeva Y.P. Kaidarova D.R. Nukusheva S.G. Tsoy E.A. Zhaxylykova A.A. Shayakhmetov Y.M. Kassymbekova F.D.
30 December 2025Kaz Med Print LLP
Reproductive Medicine (Central Asia)
2025#2025Issue 4
Introduction. Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) remain one of the pressing issues of global and national healthcare. Conventional diagnostic methods based on clinical sampling are associated with several barriers, including the invasiveness of the procedure and limited access to medical care, underscoring the need for find alternative approaches. The study aimed to compare the diagnostic accuracy (sensitivity, specificity, and agreement) of urine and cervical samples for the detection of STIs among women in Kazakhstan, and to assess the acceptability and user satisfaction with urine-based testing. Materials and Methods: A multicenter pilot study was conducted involving women aged 20–50 years from Almaty and Astana. The protocol involved self-collection of the first-void urine and clinical sampling of cervical material, followed by multiplex PCR testing (Anyplex™ II STI-12, Seegene). Sensitivity and specificity were calculated; Cohen’s kappa coefficient was used to assess inter-rater agreement. Method acceptability was rated after the biomaterial was collected. Results. The pilot study demonstrated high diagnostic accuracy of the urine-based test for the detection of STIs, including a sensitivity of 83.9% and a specificity of 99.2% relative to clinician-collected vaginal reference samples, and an excellent agreement between testing methods (κ = 0.859; 95% CI: 0.786–0.932; p < 0.001). Most women noted the simplicity and convenience of the method, their willingness to use it in the future and their recommendation of it to others. More than half of the participants preferred urine collection to traditional sampling by a healthcare professional. Conclusion: Self-collection of first-void urine demonstrated high diagnostic accuracy comparable to clinician-collected samples and was positively evaluated by participants, confirming its potential as an effective and acceptable alternative for STI screening. The findings provide a rationale for conducting larger-scale studies and for integrating urine-based testing into national STI prevention and screening programs.
diagnostics , PCR , self-collection of urine , sexually transmitted infections (STI)
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Astana Medical University, Astana, Kazakhstan
Asfendiyarov Kazakh National Medical University, Almaty, Kazakhstan
Rahat Medical Center, Almaty, Kazakhstan
Korean Medical Center Almaty, Almaty, Kazakhstan
International Oncological Tomotherapy Center “UMIT”, Astana, Kazakhstan
Astana Medical University
Asfendiyarov Kazakh National Medical University
Rahat Medical Center
Korean Medical Center Almaty
International Oncological Tomotherapy Center “UMIT”
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