Sexual health clinics lack capacity to deal with increasing number
of chlamydia infections
Chlamydia remained the most common sexually transmitted infection between 2000 and 2004 in the UK, with new cases per 1,000 patients attending genitourinary clinics up from 117 to 175, according to figures published by the Office for National Statistics last month. The highest rates of
increase occurred in young women aged between 16 and 19 years and in
men aged 20 to 24 years.
However, research published in the journal Sexually Transmitted Infections last week suggests that the sharp increase in reported Chlamydia
trachomatis infections could be down to the use of more sensitive testing methods
(2006;82:24). The researchers looked at more than 81,000 test results
obtained in one Scottish health board between 1992 and 2003. After 1998,
testing methods were changed from cultures to more sensitive nucleic
acid amplification testing, the researchers explained.
The increase in positive results when the tests were switched equates
to 62 per cent for women and 56 per cent for men, they said. They argue
that analysis of the results shows that the increase is strongly linked
to the type of test used (odds ratio 1.61, 95 per cent confidence interval
1.33–1.94; P<0.001), irrespective of the year of the test or
the sex and age of the patient — both known risk factors for infection.
In the same issue (ibid, p45)
it is reported that sexual health clinics will need to triple their capacity
in order to meet the 48-hour access
target set by the Government for 2008. Researchers reviewed demand for
appointments over five days at a large sexual health clinic in Leeds
that operates a 48-hour closed appointment system. They calculated that
626 appointments would have been required to meet the demand, however
only 181 new appointment slots were available. |
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Pharmaceutical Journal
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