Association between STI and child sexual exploitation in children under 16 years old attending sexual health clinics in England: findings from a case-control study.

Objective: Child sexual exploitation (CSE) can be difficult to identify, as there may be few reliable indicators. Although they may be used in decision-making, there is no evidence that STIs are predictors of CSE. We investigated the relationship between STI presentation at sexual health clinics (SHCs) and CSE.

Sexually transmitted infections and travel.

Purpose Of Review: The present review considers recent evidence on travel-associated sexual intercourse and sexually transmitted infection (STI) risks and travel with regards to risk behavior and implications of travel on communities. It highlights the lack of research in this area and topics for consideration.

Recent Findings: A population-based study, and others, shows significant levels of sex abroad and risk behavior with inconsistent condom use despite increasing travel advice about risks.

Sexually transmitted infections in children as a marker of child sexual abuse and direction of future research.

Purpose Of Review: This review considers recent evidence on sexually transmitted infections (STIs) as a marker of child sexual abuse (CSA), when diagnosed after the neonatal period. It also aims to identify if there are specific areas where additional research is required.

Recent Findings: An evidence-based systematic review using strict inclusion criteria shows that CSA is a major cause of STIs in children.

Sexual health issues in adolescents and young adults.

Adolescence is a time of sexual risk-taking and experimentation but also vulnerability. Young people may present to general physicians with systemic symptoms of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), such as arthritis, hepatitis or rash, but may not necessarily volunteer information about sexual activity. It is important for physicians to ask directly about sexual risks and if appropriate test for STIs and pregnancy.

Ebola virus as a sexually transmitted infection.

Purpose Of Review: The ongoing Ebola virus epidemic in West Africa is a major global health challenge. The main mode of transmission is through contact with bodily fluids and skin of those infected or who have died. This review was undertaken to consider the evidence for transmission by contact with bodily fluids occurring through sexual activity.

Gonorrhoea, chlamydia, syphilis and trichomonas in children under 13 years of age: national surveillance in the UK and Republic of Ireland.

Background: Sexually transmitted infections in children ought to raise concerns about sexual abuse. It is not known how frequently they are identified in the UK and Ireland, nor how well they are investigated.

Aims: To measure the incidence, mode of presentation, investigations and child protection procedures among children under 13 years and over 12 months of age presenting with infections of Neisseria gonorrhoea, Treponema pallidum, Chlamydia trachomatis or Trichomonas vaginalis in the UK and Republic of Ireland.

Management of sexually transmitted infections in pubertal children.

Sexually transmitted infections (STI) comprise a variety of infections transmissible through sexual contact. Mutually consenting sexual relationships have become commonplace in adolescence and sexual abuse or exploitation awareness has risen, resulting in increased presentations of children with sexual health concerns. Difficulties persist in diagnosing and managing STIs in children.

Testing the children of HIV-positive mothers.

We aimed to establish current practice regarding the testing of children of HIV-positive women in two centres in the South Yorkshire HIV Network, UK. Notes were reviewed from 59 women who attended clinic over a three-month period from 01 September 2009 to 30 November 2009. In our sample, only 29 of 52 (56%) children living in the UK who required testing had been HIV tested.

Addressing sexual health needs: a comparison of a one-stop shop with separate genitourinary medicine and family planning services.

Background And Methodology: Little evidence is available on the extent to which one-stop shops address users' sexual health needs and the extent to which they identify additional needs users may not have identified. As part of the One-Stop Shop Evaluation, a questionnaire was designed to compare the reasons for users' visits and the reported outcomes of visits at a one-stop shop with the experiences of users in separate genitourinary medicine (GUM) and contraceptive clinics.

Results: The difference in the proportions of those attending the one-stop shop and those attending the control sites services for a sexually transmitted infection (STI)-related reason who were diagnosed with an STI was minimal, but those attending for an STI-related reason in the one-stop shop were more likely to receive an additional contraceptive outcome.

Testing for HIV: concise guidance.

HIV is now a treatable medical condition and the majority of those living with the virus remain fit and well on treatment. Despite this a significant number of people in the UK are unaware of their HIV infection and remain at risk to their own health and of passing their virus unwittingly on to others. Late diagnosis is the most important factor associated with HIV-related morbidity and mortality in the U.

Time taken to undetectable viral load, following the initiation of HAART.

The notes of all HIV patients in Sheffield, registered at the Department of Genitourinary Medicine at the Royal Hallamshire Hospital, who had initiated HAART in 2005 and 2006, were audited. The aim was to determine what percentage of these patients acquired an undetectable viral load within 24 weeks and whether this was greater than 75% in accordance with the BHIVA guidelines. Twenty-nine (78.

Management of under-16-year olds in UK genitourinary medicine clinics: British Co-operative Clinical Group.

In 2004, the management of under-16-year olds in UK genitourinary (GU) medicine clinics was surveyed. Questionnaires were sent to 185 lead GU medicine consultants. A total of 111 questionnaires were returned (60%).

Measurement of the incorporation and repair of exogenous 5-hydroxymethyl-2'-deoxyuridine in human cells in culture using gas chromatography-negative chemical ionization-mass spectrometry.

The DNA of all organisms is constantly damaged by oxidation. Among the array of damage products is 5-hydroxymethyluracil, derived from oxidation of the thymine methyl group. Previous studies have established that HmU can be a sensitive and valuable marker of DNA damage.

Chaperones: protecting the patient or protecting the doctor?

The routine use of chaperones during medical examinations, including intimate examinations, is variable. Practice varies between countries and also within them. Use of a chaperone may protect patients from sexual abuse by medical or nursing practitioners.