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. 2024 Feb 26;24(1):260.
doi: 10.1186/s12879-024-09144-z.

Patterns of Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae in different anatomical sites among Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) users in Brazil

Marcela Antonini  1 , Mario Vianna Vettore  2 , Anita Øgård-Repål  3 , Daniel de Macêdo Rocha  4 , Karyanna Alves de Alencar Rocha  4 , Henrique Ciabotti Elias  4 , Felipe Barufaldi  5 , Rodrigo Carvalho Santana  5 , Elucir Gir  4 , Bruno Spire  6 , Renata Karina Reis  4
Affiliations

Patterns of Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae in different anatomical sites among Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) users in Brazil

Marcela Antonini et al. BMC Infect Dis. .

Abstract

Background: The presence of untreated sexually transmitted infections (STIs) significantly increases the chance of acquiring HIV. In Brazil, testing for Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) and Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG) among Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) users is insufficient, and syndromic treatment is a priority in clinical practice. Multi-site testing for CT/NG improves thescreening of asymptomatic cases and ensures timely treatment. Therefore, it is essential for HIV prevention. This study aims to test the importance of two-site testing for better screening of these pathogens and to determine whether the presence of symptoms is an indicator of CT/NG infection.

Methods: This is a cross-sectional study carried out in four public infectious diseases clinics in São Paulo State, Brazil between January of 2022 and March of 2023. All participants had an anal swab and a first-pass or mid-stream urine collected for CT/NG analysis by Polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Data about sociodemographic, sexual behavioural and clinical aspects were collected. Pathway analysis was used to examine the direct and indirect relationships between variables according to the theoretical model.

Results: We screened 171 PrEP users which had two samples collected, resulting in 342 samples. Comparing the anatomic sites, the urine samples showed lower sensitivity for CT and NG than anal samples. Gonorrhoea was directly linked to lower age (β= -0.161, p = 0.001). Time of PrEP use was directly associated with CT infection (β = 0.202; p = 0.042) and inversely associated with dysuria (β= -0.121, p = 0.009). Lower occurrence of yellow-green secretion was linked to detection of CT (β= -0.089, p = 0.005) and NG (β= -0.048, p = 0.002) infections. Foul-smelling discharge was directly associated with CT (β = 0.275, p = 0.004) and NG (β = 0.295, p = 0.037) infection.

Conclusion: The symptoms are a bad indicator of CT and NG infection, and the screening must be done in more than one site since most of the positive results would be missed if only urines were tested. In the case of testing only one anatomical site, specifically the urethra, the CT/NG incidence and prevalence would be underestimated. The two-sites testing improves detection rates of CT/NG, and PrEP follow-up benefits people offering STI testing.

Keywords: Chlamydia trachomatis; HIV prevention; HIV/aids; Neisseria gonorrhoeae; Pre-exposure Prophylaxis; Sexually transmitted infections.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Full theoretical model, showing hypothesised paths between variables
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Distribution of Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) and Neisseria gonorrhoea (NG) according to the anatomical site. Brazil, 2023
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Parsimonious model. Statistically significant direct relationships in the parsimonious model, including standardized β-coefficients for each path. Notes: *p < 0.1, **p < 0.05, ***p < 0.01
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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