Citation

van Rooijen MS, Schim van der Loeff MF, van Kempen L, de Vries HJC. Sex. Transm. Dis. 2018; 45(8): 534-541.

Affiliation

Department of Dermatology, Academic Medical Center (AMC), University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2018, Lippincott Williams and Wilkins)

DOI

10.1097/OLQ.0000000000000794

PMID

29465647

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Victims could become infected with sexually transmitted infections (STI) during a sexual assault. Several guidelines recommend presumptive antimicrobial therapy for sexual assault victims (SAV). We assessed the STI positivity rate and treatment uptake of female and male SAV at the Amsterdam STI clinic.

METHODS: SAV answered assault-related questions and were tested for bacterial STI (chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis), hepatitis B, and HIV during their initial visits. SAV characteristics were compared with non-SAV clients. Backward multivariable logistic regression analysis was conducted to assess whether being an SAV was associated with a bacterial STI. The proportion of those returning for treatment was calculated.

RESULTS: From January 2005 to September 2016, 1,066/168,915 (0.6%) and 135/196,184 (0.07%) consultations involved female and male SAV, respectively. Among female SAV, the STI positivity rate was 11.2% versus 11.6% among non-SAV (p=0.65). Among male SAV, the STI positivity rate was 12.6% versus 17.7% among non-SAV (p=0.12). In multivariable analysis, female SAV did not have increased odds for an STI (OR 0.94; 95%CI 0.77-1.13), and male SAV had significantly lower odds for an STI (OR 0.60; 95%CI 0.36-0.98). Of SAV requiring treatment, 89.0% (female) and 92.0% (male) returned.

CONCLUSIONS: The STI positivity rate among female SAV was comparable with female non-SAV, but male SAV had lower odds for having a bacterial STI than male non-SAV, when adjusting for confounders. The return rate of SAV for treatment was high, and therefore does not support the recommendations for presumptive therapy.This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives License 4.0 (CCBY-NC-ND), where it is permissible to download and share the work provided it is properly cited. The work cannot be changed in any way or used commercially without permission from the journal.

Language: en