TRENDS
Point-of-care screening for STIs Sexually transmitted infections are on the rise. Family physicians are well-equipped to help prevent, diagnose and treat them. Reported cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis all increased between 2020 and 2021, reaching a total of
more than 2.5 million reported cases, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said this spring. In its final surveillance data for 2021, the agency reported:
ʯ Gonorrhea rates increased more than 4%.
ʯ Syphilis rates surged, increasing
nearly 32% for combined stages of the infection. Among the syphilis data, cases of congenital syphilis (i.e., a disease that occurs when a mother with syphilis passes the infection on to her baby during pregnancy) rose by 32% and resulted in 220 stillbirths and infant deaths. ʯ Chlamydia rates increased nearly 4%, but – unlike gonorrhea and syphilis – still did not return to pre-pandemic levels. This raises concerns that screening continued to be impacted by COVID-19related disruptions the second year of the pandemic. “The reported increase in new sexually transmitted infections does concern me but it does not surprise me,” says Kristyn Brandi, MD, MPH, FACOG, Darney-Landy Fellow at the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. “Since 2020, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, many patients fell out of their normal screening habits. We also need additional help addressing barriers to healthcare access – things like transportation, 40
childcare support, cost of screening and treatment, and more access for prenatal health care and screening for young people.” Julie Fadel, director, global commercial services, Sekisui Diagnostics, says, “It is troubling but not entirely surprising to see the reported rise in STIs, especially given the dramatically reduced access to screening,
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testing and education during the COVID-19 pandemic. Troubling, because of the serious risks associated with untreated infections, such as [pelvic inflammatory disease], infertility and pregnancy complications. Not surprising, because there are likely many contributing factors, such as a lapse in an individual’s health insurance, limited exposure