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Adolescents likely to use expedited partner therapy for STIs
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More than three-quarters of adolescents report acceptance of expedited partner therapy, according to recent study findings published in Sexually Transmitted Diseases.
Ana Radovic, MD, MSc, a fellow in the division of adolescent medicine at the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, and colleagues surveyed 387 adolescents aged 13 to 22 years from July to August 2010 to determine the likelihood of their completion of expedited partner therapy (EPT) for sexually transmitted infections. EPT was defined as bringing a partner exposed to chlamydia a prescription.
Ana Radovic
Participants were given a hypothetical situation in which they were informed of a chlamydia infection and asked about their attitudes toward a variety of options their provider may suggest to notify and treat a partner. Options included: patient referral (participant tells their partner); provider referral by a doctor (doctor offers to call partner); provider referral by the health department (doctor offers to have the health department call the partner); EPT prescription (doctor gives prescription for the partner); and EPT medicine (doctor gives medicine for the partner).
Eighty-five percent of adolescents in the study said they were “likely” or “very likely” to treat their partner by EPT prescription and similarly EPT medicine (95% CI, 81-89). Patient referral was also likely (89.5%; 95% CI, 86-92). However, participants were less likely to use provider referral for both the provider informing the partner (56%; 95% CI, 51-61) and the health department informing the partner (50%; 95% CI, 45-55).Similar rates of EPT acceptance were found for males and females, respondents with no history of STI, and those who were not yet sexually experienced.
“Because it is unclear which adolescents would be most likely to use EPT, ensuring that youth are educated about and have access to EPT is likely needed to reduce STI prevalence,” the researchers wrote. “Future research should investigate actual uptake of EPT by age in clinical setting, which serve adolescents who present with STI to assess the partners’ treatment uptake; recurrent infection; safety problems including misuse of medication and adverse reaction; perceived protection of confidentiality; and understanding of diagnosis, treatment plan, and follow-up instructions without provider interaction. Considering EPT legality within their state, clinicians may elect to offer EPT as an option to treat partners of heterosexual adolescents infected with chlamydia.”
Ana Radovic, MD, MSc, can be reached at the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, Division of Adolescent Medicine, Oakland Medical Building, 3420 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213; email: ana.radovic@chp.edu.
Disclosure: The study was funded in part by a training grant from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
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