Introduction: There is discussion about the frequency of STI screening among pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) users. The aim of this study was to analyse the incidence of STIs and to evaluate different screening models in order to optimise the follow-up.
Methodology: A prospective study was conducted between 2017 and 2023, including 138 PrEP users in a STI clinic. Participants were tested for STIs every three months. Unscheduled visits were performed for those with STI-related symptoms or for people who were notified for an STI by a sexual partner. We performed a survival analysis of repeated events, estimating the cumulative incidence (CI) and incidence rate (IR).
Results: The overall CI by quarterly screening was 8.3 (95% CI: 7.6-9.1) infections per person over six years, with a decreasing trend. The most frequently diagnosed pathogen was Neisseria gonorrhoeae, with a IR of 0.76 (95% CI: 0.68-0.84). If the frequency of screening is reduced to every six months, the IR of STIs is reduced by (95% CI: 0.5-0.66) infections per user per year, and at 12 months by 0.82 (95% CI: 0.73-0.89). In the case of no pharyngeal or urethral screening, IR is reduced by 0.37 (95% CI: 0.32-0.42) infections per person per year and in those over 35 years of age by 0.33 (95% CI: 0.25-0.4). Eliminating unscheduled visits, the reduction in IR is 0.33 (95% CI: 0.24-0.42).
Conclusions: The incidence of STIs among PrEP users is high, especially in the rectum, but it does not increase over time. STI screening could be optimised reducing the frequency of pharyngeal and urethral testing, particularly in those over 35 years of age. It is essential to redistribute health resources for unscheduled visits, which have been shown to be the most cost-effective screening.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.eimce.2024.03.004 | DOI Listing |
Disaster Med Public Health Prep
January 2025
Auckland University of Technology (AUT), Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering, Auckland, New Zealand.
Objectives: This systematic literature review explores the applications of social network platforms for disaster health care management and resiliency and investigates their potential to enhance decision-making and policy formulation for public health authorities during such events.
Methods: A comprehensive search across academic databases yielded 90 relevant studies. Utilizing qualitative and thematic analysis, the study identified the primary applications of social network data analytics during disasters, organizing them into 5 key themes: communication, information extraction, disaster Management, Situational Awareness, and Location Identification.
Disaster Med Public Health Prep
January 2025
School of Journalism and Communication, Shandong University, Jinan250100, China.
Objective: In the context of the Omicron-induced lockdown in Shanghai, this paper investigated the appeals for assistance by citizens on Weibo, aiming to understand their principal challenges and immediate needs.
Methods: This paper collected Weibo posts ( 1040) containing the keyword "Shanghai Anti-epidemic Help" during the citywide lockdown. The online help requests from Shanghai citizens were analyzed across 7 dimensions, including the help sought, level of urgency, help recipient, the intended beneficiary of the help, expression, position, and emotion.
PLOS Glob Public Health
December 2024
Division of Global HIV and TB, Global Health Center (GHC), US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Kigali, Rwanda.
Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) is recommended as an HIV prevention measure for men who have sex with men (MSM). We assessed factors associated with PrEP retention and adherence among MSM in Kigali, Rwanda. We undertook a retrospective cross-sectional study and used a questionnaire to obtain PrEP retention and adherence history from MSM enrolled in the key population (KP) program that attended scheduled follow-up clinics from four (4) health facilities between April 2021 to June 2021.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAIDS Behav
December 2024
Department of Health, Human Performance, and Recreation, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, USA.
This brief report presents findings on informal, non-prescribed PrEP use among an online sample of gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (n = 196). Mean age was 33.4.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFront Reprod Health
December 2024
Bureau of Global Health Security and Diplomacy, President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), Office of Program Impact, Monitoring, and Epidemiology (PRIME), U.S. Department of State, Washington, DC, United States.
Background: In 2023, an estimated 1.3 million people newly acquired HIV. In the same year, 3.
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