Adherence to weekly anal self-examination among men who have sex with men for detection of anal syphilis
BackgroundMen who have sex with men (MSM) practicing exclusively receptive anal sex are more likely to present with secondary than primary syphilis, implying primary anorectal lesions may be missed. If men could detect anorectal lesions by regular anal self-examination, the duration of infectiousnes...
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| Format: | Article |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2022-08-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Medicine |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmed.2022.941041/full |
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| author | Ei T. Aung Ei T. Aung Christopher K. Fairley Christopher K. Fairley Jason J. Ong Jason J. Ong Tiffany P. Phillips Tiffany P. Phillips Julien Tran Julien Tran Marcus Y. Chen Marcus Y. Chen Kate Maddaford Eric P. F. Chow Eric P. F. Chow Eric P. F. Chow |
| author_facet | Ei T. Aung Ei T. Aung Christopher K. Fairley Christopher K. Fairley Jason J. Ong Jason J. Ong Tiffany P. Phillips Tiffany P. Phillips Julien Tran Julien Tran Marcus Y. Chen Marcus Y. Chen Kate Maddaford Eric P. F. Chow Eric P. F. Chow Eric P. F. Chow |
| author_sort | Ei T. Aung |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | BackgroundMen who have sex with men (MSM) practicing exclusively receptive anal sex are more likely to present with secondary than primary syphilis, implying primary anorectal lesions may be missed. If men could detect anorectal lesions by regular anal self-examination, the duration of infectiousness could be reduced. This study aimed to examine adherence to weekly anal self-examination.MethodWe conducted a longitudinal feasibility study examining the adherence to weekly anal self-examinations among MSM attending a sexual health clinic in Melbourne, Australia between December 2020 and June 2021. Adherence to weekly anal self-examinations over 12 weeks was assessed from a logbook and 4-weekly surveys. Participants who identified abnormalities in their anus were recommended to seek medical review.ResultsOf the 30 men who completed the study, anal self-examination was performed at least weekly for 308 of 360 person-weeks (86% of the weeks, 95% CI: 82–89). The mean adherence was 3.6 (95% CI: 3.3–3.9) examinations per 4-weeks per person in Weeks 1–4, 3.5 (95% CI: 3.1–3.8) in Weeks 5–8 and 3.3 (95% CI: 2.9–3.7) in Weeks 9–12 (Ptrend = 0.06). Six men (20%, 6/30) were seen for medical review after they identified abnormalities, whilst eight men (27%, 8/30) reported abnormalities, but did not seek medical review. No participants were diagnosed with syphilis during the study period.ConclusionWe conclude that men adhered well to weekly anal self-examination. Therefore, it is feasible to trial this as a routine practice among MSM. Future studies should investigate possible reductions in adherence over time and ways to increase medical review for abnormalities that men find. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-10T17:45:29Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-459d8a4225964a93b7d3134ee3cf31c2 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2296-858X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-10T17:45:29Z |
| publishDate | 2022-08-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Medicine |
| spelling | doaj.art-459d8a4225964a93b7d3134ee3cf31c22022-12-22T01:39:15ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Medicine2296-858X2022-08-01910.3389/fmed.2022.941041941041Adherence to weekly anal self-examination among men who have sex with men for detection of anal syphilisEi T. Aung0Ei T. Aung1Christopher K. Fairley2Christopher K. Fairley3Jason J. Ong4Jason J. Ong5Tiffany P. Phillips6Tiffany P. Phillips7Julien Tran8Julien Tran9Marcus Y. Chen10Marcus Y. Chen11Kate Maddaford12Eric P. F. Chow13Eric P. F. Chow14Eric P. F. Chow15Melbourne Sexual Health Centre, Alfred Health, Melbourne, VIC, AustraliaCentral Clinical School, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, AustraliaMelbourne Sexual Health Centre, Alfred Health, Melbourne, VIC, AustraliaCentral Clinical School, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, AustraliaMelbourne Sexual Health Centre, Alfred Health, Melbourne, VIC, AustraliaCentral Clinical School, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, AustraliaMelbourne Sexual Health Centre, Alfred Health, Melbourne, VIC, AustraliaCentral Clinical School, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, AustraliaMelbourne Sexual Health Centre, Alfred Health, Melbourne, VIC, AustraliaCentral Clinical School, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, AustraliaMelbourne Sexual Health Centre, Alfred Health, Melbourne, VIC, AustraliaCentral Clinical School, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, AustraliaMelbourne Sexual Health Centre, Alfred Health, Melbourne, VIC, AustraliaMelbourne Sexual Health Centre, Alfred Health, Melbourne, VIC, AustraliaCentral Clinical School, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, AustraliaCentre for Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, AustraliaBackgroundMen who have sex with men (MSM) practicing exclusively receptive anal sex are more likely to present with secondary than primary syphilis, implying primary anorectal lesions may be missed. If men could detect anorectal lesions by regular anal self-examination, the duration of infectiousness could be reduced. This study aimed to examine adherence to weekly anal self-examination.MethodWe conducted a longitudinal feasibility study examining the adherence to weekly anal self-examinations among MSM attending a sexual health clinic in Melbourne, Australia between December 2020 and June 2021. Adherence to weekly anal self-examinations over 12 weeks was assessed from a logbook and 4-weekly surveys. Participants who identified abnormalities in their anus were recommended to seek medical review.ResultsOf the 30 men who completed the study, anal self-examination was performed at least weekly for 308 of 360 person-weeks (86% of the weeks, 95% CI: 82–89). The mean adherence was 3.6 (95% CI: 3.3–3.9) examinations per 4-weeks per person in Weeks 1–4, 3.5 (95% CI: 3.1–3.8) in Weeks 5–8 and 3.3 (95% CI: 2.9–3.7) in Weeks 9–12 (Ptrend = 0.06). Six men (20%, 6/30) were seen for medical review after they identified abnormalities, whilst eight men (27%, 8/30) reported abnormalities, but did not seek medical review. No participants were diagnosed with syphilis during the study period.ConclusionWe conclude that men adhered well to weekly anal self-examination. Therefore, it is feasible to trial this as a routine practice among MSM. Future studies should investigate possible reductions in adherence over time and ways to increase medical review for abnormalities that men find.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmed.2022.941041/fullanal self-examinationsyphilismen who have sex with men (MSM)adherenceanal syphilisweekly exam |
| spellingShingle | Ei T. Aung Ei T. Aung Christopher K. Fairley Christopher K. Fairley Jason J. Ong Jason J. Ong Tiffany P. Phillips Tiffany P. Phillips Julien Tran Julien Tran Marcus Y. Chen Marcus Y. Chen Kate Maddaford Eric P. F. Chow Eric P. F. Chow Eric P. F. Chow Adherence to weekly anal self-examination among men who have sex with men for detection of anal syphilis Frontiers in Medicine anal self-examination syphilis men who have sex with men (MSM) adherence anal syphilis weekly exam |
| title | Adherence to weekly anal self-examination among men who have sex with men for detection of anal syphilis |
| title_full | Adherence to weekly anal self-examination among men who have sex with men for detection of anal syphilis |
| title_fullStr | Adherence to weekly anal self-examination among men who have sex with men for detection of anal syphilis |
| title_full_unstemmed | Adherence to weekly anal self-examination among men who have sex with men for detection of anal syphilis |
| title_short | Adherence to weekly anal self-examination among men who have sex with men for detection of anal syphilis |
| title_sort | adherence to weekly anal self examination among men who have sex with men for detection of anal syphilis |
| topic | anal self-examination syphilis men who have sex with men (MSM) adherence anal syphilis weekly exam |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmed.2022.941041/full |
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