Abstract
Introduction
Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are commonly seen in the ambulatory health
care settings such as emergency departments (EDs) and outpatient clinics. Our objective
was to assess trends over time in the incidence and demographics of STIs seen in the
ED and outpatient clinics compared with office-based clinics using the National Hospital
Ambulatory Medical Care Survey and National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey.
Methods
This study was conducted using 10 years of National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care
Survey and National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey data (2001-2010). We compared data
from 2001-2005 to data from 2006-2010. Patients were included in analyses if they
were 15 years and older and had an International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision code consistent with cervicitis, urethritis, chlamydia, gonorrhea, or trichomonas.
Results
We analyzed 82.4 million visits for STIs, with 16.5% seen in hospital-based EDs and
83.5% seen in office-based clinics between 2001 and 2010. Compared with patients seen
in office-based clinics, ED patients were younger (P< .05), more likely to be male (P< .001) and nonwhite (P< .001), and less likely to have private insurance (P< .05). We found a significant increase in adolescent (15-18 years) ED visits (P< .05) from 2001-2015 to 2006-2010 and a decrease in adolescent and male STI visits
in office-based settings (P< .05).
Conclusion
Although patients with STI are most commonly seen in office-based clinics, EDs represent
an important site of care. In particular, ED patients are relatively younger, male,
and nonwhite, and less likely to be private insured.
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References
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Article Info
Publication History
Published online: June 13, 2016
Accepted:
June 8,
2016
Received in revised form:
May 16,
2016
Received:
November 25,
2015
Footnotes
☆Conflicts of interest and sources of funding: No conflicts of interests to disclose. No sources of funding for this project.
Identification
Copyright
© 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
