title: Sexually transmitted infections in pediatric renal transplant recipients: Time to take notice!
abstract: We sought to assess the prevalence of STIs, contraception use, and unintentional pregnancy in our pediatric renal transplant recipients. We performed a retrospective chart review. Forty-nine of 65 patients in our program are currently in the high-risk age window of 13 yr or older (34 men, 15 women; mean age 17 yr old, range 13-23 yr old). There was a disproportionate difference in sexual behavior among the men and women, such that while only 15% of the men reported being sexually active, 53% of the women were sexually active. Among high-risk age-group women, 40% were on hormonal contraception. This increased to 75% in sexually active women. There were no cases of unintentional pregnancy. Thirty percent of sexually active recipients had at least one STI. This was higher among sexually active women (37.5%) compared to men (20%). STIs identified included gonococcal and chlamydial urethritis/cervicitis, Trichomonas vaginitis, HSV-2 genital sores, pelvic inflammatory disease, and HIV. In conclusion, STIs are a realistic public health concern in our pediatric renal transplant recipients. Consensus guidelines on STI screening and reproductive health counseling are needed to address this understudied problem.
authors.affiliation: Nephrology, Children's Hospital of New Orleans, New Orleans, LA, USA.
authors.forename: Isa
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Ashoor
authors.affiliation: Nephrology, Children's Hospital of New Orleans, New Orleans, LA, USA.
authors.forename: Diego
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Aviles
authors.affiliation: Adolescent Medicine, Children's Hospital of New Orleans, New Orleans, LA, USA.
authors.forename: Ryan
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pasternak
authors.affiliation: Nephrology, Children's Hospital of New Orleans, New Orleans, LA, USA.
authors.forename: Vesa M
authors.initials: VM
authors.lastname: Vehaskari
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003267:Contraception / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D016030:Kidney Transplantation; D008297:Male; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000453:epidemiology; D011247:Pregnancy; D049168:Pregnancy, Unplanned; D015995:Prevalence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012725:Sexual Behavior / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012749:Sexually Transmitted Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: adolescent; contraception; pediatric kidney transplant; sexually transmitted infections