Demographic, clinical and social factors associated with human immunodeficiency virus infection and other sexually transmitted diseases in a cohort of women from the United Kingdom and Ireland. MRC Collaborative Study of women with HIV. (1/2672)

BACKGROUND: Clinical experience suggests many women with HIV infection have experienced no other sexually transmitted diseases (STD). Our objective was to test the hypothesis that a substantial proportion of women with HIV infection in the United Kingdom and Ireland have experienced no other diagnosed STD and to describe the demographic, clinical and social factors associated with the occurrence of other STD in a cohort of HIV infected women. METHOD: Analysis of cross-sectional baseline data from a prospective study of 505 women with diagnosed HIV infection. The setting was 15 HIV treatment centres in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The main outcome measures were occurrence of other STD diagnosed for the first time before and after HIV diagnosis. Data were obtained from interview with women and clinic notes. We particularly focused on occurrence of gonorrhoea, chlamydia and trichomoniasis after HIV diagnosis, as these are the STD most likely to reflect recent unprotected sexual intercourse. RESULTS: The women were mainly infected via heterosexual sex (n = 304), and injection drug use (n = 174). 151 were black Africans. A total of 250 (49.5%) women reported never having been diagnosed with an STD apart from HIV, 255 (50.5%) women had ever experienced an STD besides HIV, including 109 (21.6%) who had their first other STD diagnosed after HIV. Twenty-five (5%) women reported having had chlamydia, gonorrhoea or trichomoniasis diagnosed for the first time after HIV diagnosis, possibly reflecting unprotected sexual intercourse since HIV diagnosis. In all 301 (60%) women reported having had sex with a man in the 6 months prior to entry to the study. Of these, 168 (58%) reported using condoms 'always', 66(23%) 'sometimes' and 56 (19%) 'never'. CONCLUSIONS: Half the women in this study reported having never experienced any other diagnosed STD besides HIV. However, after HIV diagnosis most women remain sexually active and at least 5% had an STD diagnosed which reflect unprotected sexual intercourse.  (+info)

Anaerobes in pelvic inflammatory disease: implications for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's guidelines for treatment of sexually transmitted diseases. (2/2672)

In preparing the 1998 sexually transmitted disease treatment guidelines of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, we reviewed evidence regarding the need to eradicate anaerobes when treating pelvic inflammatory disease (PID). Anaerobes are present in the upper genital tract during an episode of acute PID, with the prevalence dependent on the population under study. Vaginal anaerobes can facilitate acquisition of PID and cause tissue damage to the fallopian tube, either directly or indirectly through the host inflammatory response. Use of several broad-spectrum regimens appears to result in excellent clinical cure rates, despite the fact that some combinations fall short of providing comprehensive coverage of anaerobes. There are limited data on the long-term effects of failing to eradicate anaerobes from the upper genital tract. Concern that tissue damage may continue when anaerobes are suboptimally treated has prompted many experts to caution that therapeutic regimens should include comprehensive anaerobic coverage for optimal treatment of women with PID.  (+info)

Sexually transmitted diseases in abused children and adolescent and adult victims of rape: review of selected literature. (3/2672)

Sexual assault (defined as sexual relations with another person obtained through physical force, threat, or intimidation) of children includes genital fondling, photographing, or viewing for sexual gratification; exposure of the child to pornographic material or to adult sexual activity; and attempted or successful penetration of any of the child's orifices. The purpose of this investigation was to review the medical literature published since 1988 that reported on the prevalence of particular sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) in populations of sexually assaulted adults and adolescents and sexually abused children, as well as the prevalence of sexual abuse among children who present with an STD. These data will be helpful for managing cases of sexual assault involving children, adolescents, or adults; estimating the risk of abuse among children with specific STDs; and identifying research priorities in this area.  (+info)

Diagnosis and treatment of sexually acquired proctitis and proctocolitis: an update. (4/2672)

Sexually transmitted gastrointestinal syndromes include proctitis, proctocolitis, and enteritis. These syndromes can be caused by one or multiple pathogens. Routes of sexual transmission and acquisition include unprotected anal intercourse and oral-fecal contact. Evaluation should include appropriate diagnostic procedures such as anoscopy or sigmoidoscopy, stool examination, and culture. When laboratory diagnostic capabilities are sufficient, treatment should be based on specific diagnosis. Empirical therapy for acute proctitis in persons who have recently practiced receptive anal intercourse should be chosen to treat Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Chlamydia trachomatis infections. In individuals infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), other infections that are not usually sexually acquired may occur, and recurrent herpes simplex virus infections are common. The approach to gastrointestinal syndromes among HIV-infected patients, therefore, can be more comprehensive and will not be discussed in this article.  (+info)

Where do people go for treatment of sexually transmitted diseases? (5/2672)

CONTEXT: Major public health resources are devoted to the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) through public STD clinics. However, little is known about where people actually receive treatment for STDs. METHODS: As part of the National Health and Social Life Survey, household interviews were performed from February to September 1992 with 3,432 persons aged 18-59. Weighted population estimates and multinomial response methods were used to describe the prevalence of self-reported STDs and patterns of treatment utilization by persons who ever had a bacterial or viral STD. RESULTS: An estimated two million STDs were self-reported in the previous year, and 22 million 18-59-year-olds self-reported lifetime STDs. Bacterial STDs (gonorrhea, chlamydia, nongonococcal urethritis, pelvic inflammatory disease and syphilis) were more common than viral STDs (genital herpes, genital warts, hepatitis and HIV). Genital warts were the most commonly reported STD in the past year, while gonorrhea was the most common ever-reported STD. Almost half of all respondents who had ever had an STD had gone to a private practice for treatment (49%); in comparison, only 5% of respondents had sought treatment at an STD clinic. Respondents with a bacterial STD were seven times more likely to report going to an STD clinic than were respondents with a viral STD--except for chlamydia, which was more likely to be treated at family planning clinics. Men were significantly more likely than women to go to an STD clinic. Young, poor or black respondents were all more likely to use a family planning clinic for STD treatment than older, relatively wealthy or white respondents. Age, sexual history and geographic location did not predict particular types of treatment-seeking. CONCLUSIONS: The health care utilization patterns for STD treatment in the United States are complex. Specific disease diagnosis, gender, race and income status all affect where people will seek treatment. These factors need to be taken into account when STD prevention strategies are being developed.  (+info)

Women's interest in vaginal microbicides. (6/2672)

CONTEXT: Each year, an estimated 15 million new cases of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), including HIV, occur in the United States. Women are not only at a disadvantage because of their biological and social susceptibility, but also because of the methods that are available for prevention. METHODS: A nationally representative sample of 1,000 women aged 18-44 in the continental United States who had had sex with a man in the last 12 months were interviewed by telephone. Analyses identified levels and predictors of women's worry about STDs and interest in vaginal microbicides, as well as their preferences regarding method characteristics. Numbers of potential U.S. microbicide users were estimated. RESULTS: An estimated 21.3 million U.S. women have some potential current interest in using a microbicidal product. Depending upon product specifications and cost, as many as 6.0 million women who are worried about getting an STD would be very interested in current use of a microbicide. These women are most likely to be unmarried and not cohabiting, of low income and less education, and black or Hispanic. They also are more likely to have visited a doctor for STD symptoms or to have reduced their sexual activity because of STDs, to have a partner who had had other partners in the past year, to have no steady partner or to have ever used condoms for STD prevention. CONCLUSIONS: A significant minority of women in the United States are worried about STDs and think they would use vaginal microbicides. The development, testing and marketing of such products should be expedited.  (+info)

Risk of human immunodeficiency virus infection and genital ulcer disease among persons attending a sexually transmitted disease clinic in Italy. (7/2672)

To assess the relative importance of ulcerative and non-ulcerative sexually transmitted disease in the transmission of HIV, a seroprevalence study was conducted on 2210 patients at the sexually transmitted diseases (STD) clinic of the S. Maria e S. Gallicano Hospital in Rome, between 1989 and 1994. Among male patients, by univariate analysis, strong predictors of HIV infection were homosexuality, sexual exposure to a HIV-positive partner, hepatitis B virus infection, and positive syphilis serology. An increased risk was estimated for patients with past genital herpes (odds ratio (OR) 3.86, 95% confidence intervals (CI) 0.40-18.2), and primary syphilis (OR 5.79, 95% CI 0.59-28.6). By multivariate analysis, a positive association was found with homosexuality (OR 6.9, 95% CI 2.9-16.5), and positive syphilis serology (OR 3.5, 95% CI 1.3-9.2). An adjusted OR of 2.41 was calculated for current and/or past genital herpes. These results, although not conclusive, suggest a role of ulcerative diseases as risk factors for prevalent HIV infection, and indicate that positive syphilis serology is an unbiased criterion for identifying individuals at increased risk of HIV infection.  (+info)

Unrecognized sexually transmitted infections in rural South African women: a hidden epidemic. (8/2672)

Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are of major public health concern in developing countries, not least because they facilitate transmission of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The present article presents estimates of the prevalence, on any given day, of STIs among women in rural South Africa and the proportion who are asymptomatic, symptomatic but not seeking care, and symptomatic and seeking care. The following data sources from Hlabisa district were used: clinical surveillance for STI syndromes treated in health facilities, microbiological studies among women attending antenatal and family planning clinics, and a community survey. Population census provided denominator data. Adequacy of drug treatment was determined through quality of care surveys. Of 55,974 women aged 15-49 years, a total of 13,943 (24.9%) were infected on any given day with at least one of Trichomonas vaginalis, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Chlamydia trachomatis, or Treponema pallidum. Of the women investigated, 6697 (48%) were asymptomatic, 6994 (50%) were symptomatic but not seeking care, 238 (1.7%) were symptomatic and would seek care, and 14 (0.3%) were seeking care on that day. Only 9 of the 14 women (65%) were adequately treated. STIs remained untreated because either women were asymptomatic or the symptoms were not recognized and acted upon. Improved case management alone is therefore unlikely to have a major public health impact. Improving partner treatment and women's awareness of symptoms is essential, while the potential of mass STI treatment needs to be explored.  (+info)

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