PARTNER NOTIFICATION OUTCOMES AMONG MALE GONORRHEA PATIENTS AT BANGRAK HOSPITAL, BANGKOK, THAILAND.
Angkana CharoenwatanachokchaiNongnush MarinBenjaluck PhonratJittima DhitavatPublished in: The Southeast Asian journal of tropical medicine and public health (2018)
Partner notification (PN) is an important strategy to control sexually
transmitted infections. The objective of this study was to assess the outcomes of
PN in order to improve control of sexually transmitted infections. We retrospectively
reviewed heterosexual male gonorrhea cases who presented for treatment
to Bangrak Hospital during 2008 to determine the percent PN, the percent of
successful partner management (SPM) and the factors associated with both. We
used univariate and multivariate analyses to determine significant associations
between characteristics of index cases and PN outcomes. We reviewed the medical
records of 418 index cases. The median age of the subjects reviewed was 30 years
old (range: 14-63). Six hundred ninety-two partners were identified. Of those,
367 partners (53.0%) were notified by 311 index cases; 95 partners (25.9% of the
notifications) of the 89 index cases presented for treatment. The medical records
of 92 partners were available to review: 61 (66%) had gonorrhea, chlamydia, or
genital herpes infections. The median period from being notified to seeking care
was 2.5 days (range: 0-92); 80% sought care within 9 days of notification. Spouses
and girlfriends were the major partners being notified and had greater SPM. On
multivariate analysis, a greater notification rate was found among index cases
who were government workers or had a steady relationship. A higher SPM rate
was associated with index cases who were aged ≥25 years, married or had a
steady relationship. The PN rate among the studied index cases was inadequate.
Further studies are needed to develop successful methods to improve PN rates
and SPM rates in order to improve sexually transmitted infection control in the
study population.