• Lily Aboud, Yangqi Xu, ChowEric P FEPFCentral Clinical School, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia.Melbourne Sexual Health Centre, Alfred Health, Melbourne, Australia.Centre for Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, The University, Teodora Wi, Rachel Baggaley, Maeve B Mello, Christopher K Fairley, and Jason J Ong.
• College of Medicine and Dentistry, James Cook University, Townsville, Australia.
• Bmc Med. 2021 Nov 25; 19 (1): 285.

BackgroundScreening for Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) and Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG) at genital and extragenital sites is needed for most key populations, but molecular diagnostic tests for CT/NG are costly. We aimed to determine the accuracy of pooled samples from multiple anatomic sites from one individual to detect CT/NG using the testing of a single sample from one anatomic site as the reference.MethodsIn this systematic review and meta-analysis, we searched five databases for articles published from January 1, 2000, to February 4, 2021. Studies were included if they contained original data describing the diagnostic accuracy of pooled testing compared with single samples, resource use, benefits and harms of pooling, acceptability, and impact on health equity. We present the pooled sensitivities and specificities for CT and NG using a bivariate mixed-effects logistic regression model. The study protocol is registered in PROSPERO, an international database of prospectively registered systematic reviews (CRD42021240793). We used GRADE to evaluate the quality of evidence.ResultsOur search yielded 7814 studies, with 17 eligible studies included in our review. Most studies were conducted in high-income countries (82.6%, 14/17) and focused on men who have sex with men (70.6%, 12/17). Fourteen studies provided 15 estimates for the meta-analysis for CT with data from 5891 individuals. The pooled sensitivity for multisite pooling for CT was 93.1% [95% confidence intervals (CI) 90.5-95.0], I2=43.3, and pooled specificity was 99.4% [99.0-99.6], I2=52.9. Thirteen studies provided 14 estimates for the meta-analysis for NG with data from 6565 individuals. The pooled sensitivity for multisite pooling for NG was 94.1% [95% CI 90.9-96.3], I2=68.4, and pooled specificity was 99.6% [99.1-99.8], I2=83.6. Studies report significant cost savings (by two thirds to a third).ConclusionMultisite pooled testing is a promising approach to improve testing coverage for CT/NG in resource-constrained settings with a small compromise in sensitivity but with a potential for significant cost savings.© 2021. The Author(s).

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