Resumen

KUFA, Tendesayi et al. Acceptability and performance of dual HIV/syphilis testing in male circumcision clients, 2021. South. Afr. j. HIV med. (Online) [online]. 2024, vol.25, n.1, pp.1-10. ISSN 2078-6751.  https://doi.org/10.4102/sajhivmed.v25i1.1571.

BACKGROUND: Dual HIV/syphilis testing may be an acceptable intervention to identify men with sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and at risk of HIV acquisition. OBJECTIVES: We sought to determine the acceptability, and performance of dual HIV/syphilis testing among men attending voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) services at six public sector facilities in Gauteng. METHOD: This was a cross-sectional study at VMMC facilities. Men ≥ 18 years were enrolled. The men had (1) a questionnaire administered, (2) on-site dual HIV/syphilis testing with First Response HIV1+2/Syphilis Combo Card Test by routine lay counsellors, and (3) a blood specimen collected for centralised laboratory testing for HIV and syphilis serology. We evaluated pre-test and post-test acceptability and performance compared to serological testing. RESULTS: Of the 679 men analysed (median age 32.1 years), 96.7% of HIV-negative men preferred testing for HIV and syphilis simultaneously. Of the 675 men tested for syphilis, 28 (4.7%) tested positive (past or recent). In the laboratory, 43/609 (7.1%) had syphilis infection detected, with 9/609 (1.5%) having recent syphilis. There was sub-optimal sensitivity for HIV detection (90.9%; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 88.5% - 93.3%), and for past/recent syphilis (55.8%; 95% CI: 51.9% - 59.8%), improving to 88.9% (95% CI: 86.4% - 91.4%) for recent syphilis. Specificities were > 99% for HIV and syphilis (past or recent). Post-test acceptability was 96.6% and willingness to pay for future testing was 86.1%. CONCLUSION: Dual HIV/syphilis testing was acceptable but had sub-optimal sensitivity for HIV and syphilis. Syphilis detection was adequate for recent infection.

Palabras clave : male circumcision; HIV; syphilis; dual testing; acceptability; performance.

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