Screening for Sexually Transmitted Diseases

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Key points

  • By screening the appropriate populations for sexually transmitted infections (STIs), we can treat affected individuals (secondary prevention), prevent fetal abnormalities (primary prevention), and prevent spread of the infection to others (primary prevention).

  • Screening for chlamydia and gonorrhea should be offered to all sexually active women under the age of 25, pregnant women, men who have sex with men (MSM), and those with HIV.

  • Syphilis screening should be offered to pregnant women, MSM, and

Hepatitis B

About 21,000 Americans are infected with hepatitis B every year, and there are about 2.2 million people in the United States with chronic

Summary

Sex is an important part of life. The goal for screening is to identify people at risk and mitigate those risks as much as possible. Screen all patients for risk factors for STIs. If the patient does have a risk factor, screen them for the infections they are at risk for. The trend in testing has been toward less invasive methods, such as vaginal self-swabs for gonorrhea and chlamydia.55 The use of less invasive methods increases the number of people willing to undergo testing without

Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge Taria Poteat, MPH for her help in preparing this article.

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    Disclosure Statement: The authors have nothing to disclose.

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