Laboratory Diagnosis of Sexually Transmitted Infections in Cases of Suspected Child Sexual Abuse

Xuan Qin; Ann J Melvin

doi:10.1128/JCM.01433-19

Laboratory Diagnosis of Sexually Transmitted Infections in Cases of Suspected Child Sexual Abuse

J Clin Microbiol. 2020 Jan 28;58(2):e01433-19. doi: 10.1128/JCM.01433-19. Print 2020 Jan 28.

Authors

Xuan Qin^{1

2}, Ann J Melvin^{3

2}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Laboratory Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA [email protected].
² Seattle Children's Hospital, Seattle, Washington, USA.
³ Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA.

Abstract

Laboratory diagnosis of microbial agents associated with sexually transmitted infections plays an important role in both the care of victims of child sexual abuse (CSA) and the investigation of suspected CSA incidents, with law enforcement implications. Rapid and sensitive test results prompt immediate actions to treat and protect the victimized children. The development and maturation of automated nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs) has greatly improved the assay sensitivity and specificity, with only a 1- to 2-h turnaround time. Unfortunately, the performance characteristics of NAATs have been determined largely with a few limited specimen types and evaluated in adults only. This minireview attempts to cover the scope of infectious agents potentially implicated in CSA, specimen collection, laboratory test modalities, and laboratory report constraints, further complicated by infrequently collected specimen types from prepubertal children <13 years of age.

Keywords: CSA; NAAT; child sexual abuse; extragenital; genital.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Child
Child Abuse, Sexual / diagnosis*
Child, Preschool
Clinical Laboratory Techniques / methods*
Female
Humans
Male
Nucleic Acid Amplification Techniques / methods*
Sensitivity and Specificity
Sexually Transmitted Diseases / diagnosis*
Specimen Handling / methods