International Journal of STD & AIDS > Volume 18, Number 9 > Pp. 606-609

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Original research articles

Does partner notification of men with asymptomatic non-gonococcal non-chlamydial urethritis identify chlamydia-positive women?

R P McCathie and E M Carlin

Department of Genitourinary Medicine, Nottingham University Hospital NHS Trust, City Hospital Campus, Hucknall Road, Nottingham NG5 1PB, UK; Department of Genitourinary Medicine, Nottingham University Hospital NHS Trust, City Hospital Campus, Hucknall Road, Nottingham NG5 1PB, UK

The objective of this study was to identify the proportion of female contacts of men diagnosed with non-gonococcal non-chlamydial urethritis (NGNCU) who had chlamydial infection, muco-purulent cervicitis (MPC), pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) or other genital infections, and to determine whether chlamydial rates are higher in women who are contacts of men with NGNCU. A retrospective case-note review of men with NGNCU and their traced female contacts was performed. Seventy-five men were included in the study, of whom 75% were caucasian and 49% were asymptomatic. Twenty-four women were successfully traced equating to 0.32 contacts per index man. In total, 46% of the women were contacts of asymptomatic men. Overall, 26% of women were identified with chlamydial infection, increasing to 36% in the contacts of asymptomatic men. The diagnosis and partner notification of men with asymptomatic NGNCU does identify female contacts with high chlamydial infection rates. However, such targeting is resource-intensive and invasive urethral screening may deter asymptomatic men from attending. It is likely that the needs of the whole health community will be better served by screening a greater number of men and operating an active partner notification system.

Key Words: URETHRITIS • PARTNER NOTIFICATION • CHLAMYDIA TRACHOMATIS

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