Characterization of patients with multiple sexually transmitted infections: A hospital-based survey
2010

Patients with Multiple Sexually Transmitted Infections

Sample size: 275 publication 10 minutes Evidence: moderate

Author Information

Author(s): Choudhry Shilpee, Ramachandran V. G., Das Shukla, Bhattacharya S. N.

Primary Institution: UCMS & GTB Hospital, Delhi, India

Hypothesis

What is the burden of patients with more than one concurrent STI and what factors are associated with such infections?

Conclusion

The study found that a significant number of patients with multiple STIs were not accurately diagnosed using the syndromic approach, highlighting the need for laboratory diagnosis.

Supporting Evidence

  • 37% of patients had multiple STIs.
  • 72% of patients with multiple STIs were male.
  • 31.3% had more than three sexual partners in the past 6 months.
  • 76.4% had contact with commercial sex workers.
  • Syphilis was the most common infection associated with multiple STIs.

Takeaway

Many people who go to the doctor for STIs actually have more than one infection, and doctors need better tests to find all of them.

Methodology

The study included 275 patients who were screened for STIs and analyzed using multivariate analysis to identify risk factors.

Potential Biases

The majority of participants were from a lower socio-economic background, which may introduce bias in the findings.

Limitations

The study excluded follow-up and asymptomatic patients, which may limit the generalizability of the findings.

Participant Demographics

Of the 102 patients with multiple STIs, 72% were male, 70% were married, and most had low education levels.

Statistical Information

P-Value

p<0.05

Confidence Interval

95% CI

Statistical Significance

p<0.05

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.4103/2589-0557.74978

Want to read the original?

Access the complete publication on the publisher's website

View Original Publication