Almost 20 percent of individuals with chlamydia and 25 percent with gonorrhea are not being initially treated<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
By Lori Solomon HealthDay Reporter<\/b><\/p>\n
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TUESDAY, April 30, 2024 (HealthDay News) — Individuals seen for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) by clinicians in a private U.S. health care setting are less likely to receive recommended treatment than those seen in a public health clinic, according to a study published online in the May issue of Sexually Transmitted Diseases<\/em>.<\/p>\n Brian E. Dixon, Ph.D., from Indiana University in Indianapolis, and colleagues compared treatment rates for laboratory-confirmed Chlamydia trachomatis <\/em>(CT) and Neisseria gonorrhoeae <\/em>(GC; 2016 to 2020) among public and private providers. Data included linked electronic health records and Medicaid claims.<\/p>\n The researchers found that 82.2 percent of initial CT and 63.0 percent of initial GC episodes received U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention-recommended treatment. Across the five-year period, the public STI clinic treated >90 percent of CT and GC cases consistently, while private providers were significantly less likely to treat first episodes for CT (79.6 percent) and GC (53.3 percent). A higher likelihood of recommended treatment was associated with being male, being HIV-positive, and identifying as Black or multiracial. While all CT cases with treatment occurred per guidelines, 10.8 percent of GC cases received nonrecommended treatment.<\/p>\n “Although these treatment rates are higher than previous studies, there remain significant gaps in STI treatment that require intervention from public health,” the authors write.<\/p>\n Abstract\/Full Text (subscription or payment may be required)<\/a><\/p>\n <\/i><\/p>\n