The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on sexually transmitted infections services - experience from Bialystok, Poland

Abstract

Introduction: COVID-19 pandemic had a big impact on the health services organisation, including that of sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

Aim: To analyse and evaluate the influence of COVID-19 epidemic on the detection of STIs and healthcare services in a group of these patients on the base of the experience of the Department of Dermatology and Venereology and University Outpatient Clinic in Bialystok, Poland.

Material and methods: Analysis of the number of consultations for suspicion of STIs, number of newly diagnosed cases of syphilis, gonorrhoea, Chlamydia trachomatis infections and genital herpes in two periods: January 2019 - February 2020 (before the epidemic state was introduced) and March 2020 - April 2021 (during pandemic). STIs cases hospitalised in the same periods were also analysed.

Results: The number of hospitalisations and outpatient consultations decreased during pandemic as compared to the period before it (by 83.3% and 41.9%, respectively). Patients with syphilis constituted the majority in both periods, remaining STIs were few. During pandemic, the proportion of detected cases of syphilis was higher as compared to the time before it, despite the diminished number of consultations (39.4% and 28%, respectively). Majority of patients with syphilis were men (92.3% and 93.3%), among them men-who-have-sex-with-men constituted at least 50%. Early syphilis was diagnosed more frequently during pandemic than before it (92.3% and 78.6%, respectively), early symptomatic syphilis in particular (46.2% and 35.7%, respectively). HIV coinfection in syphilis patients was more frequent during pandemic (15.8% and 7.1%, respectively). More than half of these patients (53.8%) did not come for follow-up visits after treatment during pandemic.

Conclusions: The pandemic caused the decrease in number of outpatient STIs consultations and hospitalisations. The proportion of newly diagnosed cases of syphilis per number of consultations increased. The percentage of early syphilis cases, especially early symptomatic syphilis increased. Adherence to after treatment follow up was suboptimal.

Keywords: COVID-19 pandemic; sexually transmitted infections; syphilis.