Screening women for gonorrhea: demographic screening criteria for general clinical use.

Objectives: The purpose of this analysis was to derive potential gonorrhea screening criteria for women.

Methods: Data corresponding to 44,366 gonorrhea cultures from women 15 through 44 years of age in Columbus, Ohio, were analyzed.

Results: Characteristics that were associated with gonococcal infection and were suitable for screening decisions included patient's age and marital status and previous prevalence of gonorrhea at provider site. Probabilities of infection ranged from .001 for married women 25 through 44 years of age at low-prevalence provider sites to .078 for unmarried women 15 through 19 years of age at high-prevalence sites.

Conclusions: Patient's age and marital status and prevalence of gonorrhea at provider site can be used as indicators to ensure testing of high-prevalence groups.