Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Sep 1;49(9):616-621.
doi: 10.1097/OLQ.0000000000001665. Epub 2022 Jun 17.

Sexually Transmitted Infection Testing, Prevalence, and Treatment Among Individuals Receiving HIV Preexposure Prophylaxis Within an Integrated Healthcare Delivery System

Mark A Schmidt  1 , John F Dickerson  1 , Maureen C O'Keeffe-Rosetti  1 , Suzanne B Salas  1 , Judy L Donald  1 , Guoyu Tao  2
Affiliations

Sexually Transmitted Infection Testing, Prevalence, and Treatment Among Individuals Receiving HIV Preexposure Prophylaxis Within an Integrated Healthcare Delivery System

Mark A Schmidt et al. Sex Transm Dis. .

Abstract

Background: Initial and follow-up sexually transmitted infection (STI) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) testing are recommended when taking HIV preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP). We assessed STI services before and after PrEP initiation among persons 18 years or older.

Methods: We conducted this retrospective cohort study at a US integrated healthcare delivery system. We measured HIV/STI testing rates, STI prevalence and treatment at 3 time points: (1) at PrEP initiation, (2) at 120 days, and (3) at 210 days.

Results: Of 685 PrEP initiators, 67.2% continued PrEP use at 120 days and 49.5% at 210 days. Of PrEP users, HIV and STI testing were greater than 85% and greater than 80%, respectively, at all 3 time points. Prevalence for any chlamydia, rectal chlamydia, and any gonorrhea, rectal gonorrhea, or pharyngeal gonorrhea was always high at the 120 days and 210 days (eg, 6.9%, 10.5%, 6.7%, 5.0%, and 5.2%, respectively, at the 120 days for continuous PrEP users). Over 90% of all individuals who tested positive for chlamydia and gonorrhea received antibiotic pharmacy fills within 7 days at 120 and 210 days. Monthly PrEP-related pharmacy cost was about $2259 to $2659. The proportion of the total medical cost that was PrEP-related pharmacy was about 82% for PrEP continuous users.

Conclusions: Although HIV/STI testing rates were high, they can still be improved during HIV PrEP management. High STI prevalence after PrEP initiation in this study suggests that patients taking PrEP are at risk of acquiring an STI. Interventions to improve STI services during PrEP management are continuously needed.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest: None declared.

References

    1. Fauci AS, Redfield RR, Sigounas G, et al. Ending the HIV epidemic: A plan for the United States. JAMA 2019; 321:844–845.
    1. Force USPST, Owens DK, Davidson KW, et al. Preexposure prophylaxis for the prevention of HIV infection: US Preventive Services Task Force recommendation statement. JAMA 2019; 321:2203–2213.
    1. Workowski KA, Bachmann LH, Chan PA, et al. Sexually transmitted infections treatment guidelines, 2021. MMWR Recomm Rep 2021; 70:1–187.
    1. Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention. Preexposure prophylaxis for the prevention of HIV infection in the United States—2021 update: A clinical practice guideline; 2021. Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/hiv/pdf/risk/prep/cdc-hiv-prep-guidelines-2021.pdf . Accessed July 7, 2022.
    1. Jenness SM, Weiss KM, Goodreau SM, et al. Incidence of gonorrhea and chlamydia following human immunodeficiency virus preexposure prophylaxis among men who have sex with men: A modeling study. Clin Infect Dis 2017; 65:712–718.

Publication types