Anogenital human papillomavirus in sexually abused and nonabused children: a multicenter study.

Objectives: To characterize the epidemiology of genital human papillomavirus (HPV) infection in children without previous consensual sexual activity, comparing HPV prevalence by certainty of child sexual abuse (CSA).

Patients And Methods: Patients presenting for evaluation of CSA in 8 sites in Atlanta, Houston, Harrisburg, and New York City were recruited along with patients presenting for unrelated health visits. CSA certainty was classified as definite, probable, possible, or no evidence following published guidelines and the results of history, physical examination, and laboratory tests.

Epidemiology of sexually transmitted infections in suspected child victims of sexual assault.

Objective: The objective of this study was to describe the epidemiology of Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Chlamydia trachomatis, Trichomonas vaginalis, Treponema pallidum, HIV, and herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) infection diagnosed by culture or by serologic or microscopic tests and by nucleic acid amplification tests in children who are evaluated for sexual victimization.

Methods: Children aged 0 to 13 years, evaluated for sexual victimization, who required sexually transmissible infection (STI) testing were enrolled at 4 US tertiary referral centers. Specimens for N gonorrhoeae and C trachomatis cultures, wet mounts for detection of T vaginalis, and serologic tests for syphilis and HIV were collected and processed according to study sites' protocols.

Multicenter study of nucleic acid amplification tests for detection of Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae in children being evaluated for sexual abuse.

Background: Diagnosis of sexually transmitted infections in children suspected of sexual abuse is challenging due to the medico-legal implications of test results. Currently, the forensic standard for diagnosis of Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) and Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG) infections is culture. In adults, nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs) are superior to culture for CT, but these tests have been insufficiently evaluated in pediatric populations for forensic purposes.