This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Adolescents, young adults with sickle cell disease have higher rates of chlamydia
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
Adolescents and young adults with sickle cell disease are more likely to have asymptomatic chlamydia compared with adolescents without the disease, according to study findings in Clinical Pediatrics.
Gabriella Bluett-Mills, MD, MPH, of Tulane University School of Medicine in New Orleans, and colleagues assessed the burden of asymptomatic chlamydia among patients with sickle cell disease who received care at the Sickle Cell Center of Southern Louisiana between October 2011 and September 2012.
Thirty-four of 96 study participants were successfully tested during the study period. Approximately 12% of study participants tested positive for chlamydia. Adolescents made up three-quarters of positive results. State-published data indicate a chlamydia rate of 1.8% among an age-matched comparative cohort of black patients.
“Screening for chlamydia in comprehensive sickle cell disease clinics is feasible and is an effective way of identifying and treating asymptomatic patients who may not be seeking routine primary care. However, stricter guidelines need to be in place within the clinic to ensure all patients undergo screening since several age eligible patients did not undergo screening as planned,” the researchers concluded.
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts