Opportunistic screening for Chlamydia trachomatis in men attending three different secondary healthcare settings.
OBJECTIVE
To assess the feasibility and acceptability of opportunistic Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) screening of asymptomatic men attending three different secondary healthcare settings and to investigate CT positivity in these settings.


METHODS
Men attending fracture, fertility and family planning (FP) clinics were invited to be screened by first-void urine and complete a questionnaire which collected demographic, sexual and behavioural characteristics, and their opinion about the screening process.


RESULTS
1290 men were approached, with 80% participating. The number of men approached, number providing a satisfactory urine specimen and CT positivity rate (95% CI) were, respectively, n = 401, n = 206, 14.6% (10.4 to 20.1) for the FP clinic, n = 505, n = 328, 1.2% (0.5 to 3.2) for the fracture clinic and n = 384, n = 319, 0.3% (0.1 to 1.8) for the fertility clinic. The highest rates of CT infection were found in men attending the FP clinics, aged between 20-24 years. Most of the men from all three clinics felt that the setting (87.9%) and specimen (97.7%) were acceptable.


CONCLUSIONS
Opportunistic chlamydial screening of asymptomatic men in three secondary healthcare settings found high positivity rates, but low uptake rates in a FP setting compared with fertility and fracture clinics. Innovative and targeted intervention strategies are required to engage this high-risk group of men in screening.
Sripada
S
S
Assisted Reproduction Unit, Aberdeen Maternity Hospital, Foresterhill, Aberdeen, UK. ogy302@abdn.ac.uk
Logan
S
S
McGillivray
S
S
McKenzie
H
H
Templeton
A
A
Hamilton
M
M
Sutherland
A
A
Bhattacharya
S
S
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000553:Ambulatory Care; D002690:Chlamydia Infections / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D002692:Chlamydia trachomatis; D005193:Family Planning Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D050723:Fractures, Bone / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D007248:Infertility, Male / Q000628:therapy; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods* / Q000523:psychology; D008875:Middle Aged; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016482:Urinalysis