Sexually transmitted diseases
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Multicenter Study
Prevalence and determinants of recent HIV testing among sexually active men who have sex with men in the St. Louis metropolitan area, Missouri, 2008.
New human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) diagnoses in the St. Louis metropolitan area, MO, occur predominantly among men who have sex with men (MSM). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends HIV testing at least annually for sexually active MSM. We examined prevalence and factors associated with recent HIV testing among MSM in the St. Louis area. ⋯ Nearly half of sexually active MSM in this analysis had not been tested for HIV during the previous year. Annual visits to health care providers during which sexual risk is discussed are likely to promote testing among MSM.
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Multicenter Study
High annual syphilis testing rates among gay men in Australia, but insufficient retesting.
Since 2000, infectious syphilis notifications have increased substantially among Australian gay men. We describe testing at a frequency lower than guidelines recommend. ⋯ Our analysis showed high lifetime and annual syphilis testing rates in Australian gay men, but low retesting rates. We identified factors associated with less frequent syphilis testing rates among Australian gay men to assist in developing targeted screening strategies.
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Implementing national recommendations for syphilis screening is not feasible in the emergency department (ED) setting. The purpose of this study was to determine the syphilis screening rate among ED patients tested for gonorrhea and chlamydia (GC/CT) and the syphilis prevalence among those who were tested. ⋯ Among ED patients tested for GC/CT, less than one-third were screened for syphilis. Failure to screen these patients likely resulted in missed opportunities for syphilis diagnosis.