BMJ  2006;332 (11 February), doi:10.1136/bmj.332.7537.0-b

Primary care has to be considered in STI surveillance

A substantial number of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in the UK are diagnosed and treated in primary care. Cassell and colleagues (p 332) compared data from a primary care database during 1990-2000 with genitourinary medicine clinic surveillance data. They found that 23% of female chlamydia cases and 49% of cases of male non-specific urethritis and urethral discharge were diagnosed and treated in primary care. In order to understand the true impact of STIs in UK health care, information mustn't be based only on surveillance of genitourinary medicine clinics, say the authors.

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Trends in sexually transmitted infections in general practice 1990-2000: population based study using data from the UK general practice research database

Jackie A Cassell, Catherine H Mercer, Lorna Sutcliffe, Irene Petersen, Amir Islam, M Gary Brook, Jonathan D Ross, George R Kinghorn, Ian Simms, Gwenda Hughes, Azeem Majeed, Judith M Stephenson, Anne M Johnson, and Andrew C Hayward
BMJ 2006 332: 332-334. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

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