Cost and effectiveness of Chlamydia screening among male military recruits: Markov modeling of complications averted through notification of prior female partners.

Background: Despite rising rates of female screening, a high economic burden remains associated with Chlamydia infection from high rates of undetected asymptomatic disease and its associated sequelae of pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) and chronic pelvic pain (CP). Males comprise the majority of US military recruits and represent an ideal population in which to achieve identification and interruption of sexually transmitted infection among infected partners through mass tandem screening.

Methods: We developed a static decision tree incorporating a calibrated Markov model to predict the differences in healthcare payer direct healthcare costs, cases of PID and CP averted among female partners of male recruits through implementation of either selective (aged 24 and younger) or universal recruit screening policies incorporating partner notification.