Does partner notification of men with asymptomatic non-gonococcal non-chlamydial urethritis identify chlamydia-positive women?
The objective of this study was to identify the proportion of female contacts of men diagnosed with non-gonococcal non-chlamydial urethritis (NGNCU) who had chlamydial infection, muco-purulent cervicitis (MPC), pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) or other genital infections, and to determine whether chlamydial rates are higher in women who are contacts of men with NGNCU. A retrospective case-note review of men with NGNCU and their traced female contacts was performed. Seventy-five men were included in the study, of whom 75% were caucasian and 49% were asymptomatic. Twenty-four women were successfully traced equating to 0.32 contacts per index man. In total, 46% of the women were contacts of asymptomatic men. Overall, 26% of women were identified with chlamydial infection, increasing to 36% in the contacts of asymptomatic men. The diagnosis and partner notification of men with asymptomatic NGNCU does identify female contacts with high chlamydial infection rates. However, such targeting is resource-intensive and invasive urethral screening may deter asymptomatic men from attending. It is likely that the needs of the whole health community will be better served by screening a greater number of men and operating an active partner notification system.
McCathie
R P
RP
Department of Genitourinary Medicine, Nottingham University Hospital NHS Trust, City Hospital Campus, Hucknall Road, Nottingham NG5 1PB, UK. radhikanirula@hotmail.com
Carlin
E M
EM
D000328:Adult; D000554:Ambulatory Care Facilities; D002690:Chlamydia Infections / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000635:transmission*; D002692:Chlamydia trachomatis / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D016358:Contact Tracing; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D052801:Male Urogenital Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012747:Sexual Partners; D014526:Urethritis