Fellow Jacobi Medical Center Hackensack, New Jersey, United States
Background: Gonorrhea and chlamydia (GC/CT) continue to be among the most commonly reported sexually transmitted infections (STI) in the U.S., with disproportionately higher infection rates in adolescents and young adults. Current screening guidelines are based on data from the 1980’s, which found a low prevalence of pharyngeal gonorrhea, and recommended against routine oropharyngeal (OP) testing. Improved testing technology, changing trends in sexual practices, and increasing disease prevalence, however, have brought into question whether oral testing enhances STI diagnosis. Objective: To determine whether the addition of routine oropharyngeal testing in patients undergoing urogenital screening improves overall STI detection. Design/Methods: In February 2022, our pediatric emergency department (PED) incorporated OP testing as part of the routine STI screening for adolescents. This retrospective study included patients ages 13-21 years presenting to the PED who underwent routine STI screening. Cases involving sexual abuse or assault were excluded. We collected variables including demographics, and results of OP/genitourinary GC/CT testing. We then compared the rates of GC/CT pre implementation (June 2019 to January 2022) to post-implementation (February 2022 to October 2023) and also examined the frequency of positive OP GC/CT with negative urogenital results. Descriptive statistics were used to describe and report the data.
