High Rates of STIs in HIV-Infected Patients Attending an STI Clinic

Abstract

Objectives To evaluate the rates and types of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in patients infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) attending a public STI clinic in Miami, Florida as compared with HIV-uninfected patients attending the same clinic. Methods This was a retrospective review of medical records of individuals attending the Miami-Dade County Health Department STI clinic from March 2012 to May 2012. Demographic and clinical information was abstracted and transferred to an electronic database. Consecutive age-matched HIV-infected and HIV-uninfected patients were identified during the study period. Demographics, risk factors, and history and rates of STIs for HIV-infected and HIV-uninfected patients and for those with newly diagnosed and previously diagnosed HIV infection were compared. Results A total of 175 medical records were reviewed (89 HIV-infected patients and 86 HIV-uninfected patients). The median age was 37 years. A history of STIs, including syphilis, was more common in HIV-infected than in HIV-uninfected patients. Individuals with a prior diagnosis of HIV were more likely to be older (older than 37 years of age, χ2= 15.3, P < 0.01), male (χ2= 4.74, P = 0.05), to have a new STI (χ2= 5.83, P = 0.01), to have a new diagnosis of syphilis (χ2= 5.15, P = 0.01), and to be under medical care (χ2= 31.19, P < 0.001) than those newly diagnosed as having HIV. Conclusions HIV-infected individuals who attended this urban STI clinic had high rates of new and past STIs, suggesting the persistence of high-risk sexual behaviors. STI clinics could be a premier site to identify individuals with HIV and high-risk sexual behaviors who could benefit from additional targeted interventions.

Sexually transmitted infections knowledge in different populations attending a French university hospital: a prospective observational study

“…Their score was similar to the one observed in the general population undergoing sporadic STI screening, even though they reported a higher rate of systematic condom use and more frequent previous STI history. Although our analysis did not take into account the presence of efficient antiretroviral treatment or undetectable viral load, these findings, which are consistent with other reports [ 12 ], underline the need for specific STI assessment and counselling as part of routine HIV care.…”

A Chart Review Study of Sexually Transmitted Infections Among Persons Living with HIV Attending an STI Clinic in Trinidad

“…Our findings of high levels of STI/HIV coinfection in PLHIV is consistent with findings in the literature in other regions and settings. [11][12][13][14] In a study by Baffi et al, 15 of 1544 HIV-infected patients attending a HIV clinic in the Southeastern United States, there were 40 (2.6%) incident cases of syphilis identified, the majority were male (76%) and men who have sex with men (MSM; 57%). 15 On the contrary, asymptomatic STIs were common in women and MSM, 15 hence warranting the need for more frequent screening in these populations.…”

Gonorrhoea and chlamydia diagnosis as an entry point for HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis: a modelling study

“…In addition to testing of symptomatic NG/CT diagnosis, we also assume screening of asymptomatic individuals as follows (figure 1- bottom panel):Guidelines-based screening for HIV and NG/CT: MSM may present to HIV/STI care providers (eg, STI clinics, community health centres, HIV counselling programmes) for a variety of reasons and get tested for HIV and other STIs. We model visits for STI screening as a fixed weekly probability that reflects an individual’s age group and sexual activity such that younger MSM with higher propensity of partnerships experience a higher likelihood of visits 16 17. We further assume that NG/CT is always screened at the urethral site, and a proportion of patients are also screened at the rectal and pharyngeal sites (calibrated to match the reported level of NG/CT infections diagnosis at each site among MSM in Baltimore City, as shown in table 1).…”