Chlamydia and gonorrhoea care cascade in Australian general practices: analysis of testing, diagnosis, treatment, re-testing and re-infection rates

Project Details

Patron ID: PAT029

Project Lead:

Chlamydia and gonorrhoea infections are the most notified sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in Australia. Majority of patients infected with chlamydia and gonorrhoea do not have any symptoms, which can result in delayed diagnosis and treatment. This delay can result in the development of serious reproductive complications including pelvic inflammatory disease in women, which can result in fallopian tube scarring, ectopic pregnancy, infertility and chronic pelvic pain, and epididymo-orchitis in men.

Whilst there is data describing the detection and management of chlamydia and gonorrhea infection in high risk populations (the 16-29 year age group in chlamydia infection and gay/bisexual men in gonorrhoea infection), there is a lack of information on the broader population attending general practice. This is important because incidence of STIs is also increasing in all age and gender groups.

This study will collect and analyse data on chlamydia and gonorrhoea testing, diagnosis, treatment and re-resting rates in people aged 16 years and older attending general practice in both metropolitan, regional areas and rural areas of Australian general practices.

Research Outcomes

This study found that it was feasible to explore chlamydia and gonorrhoea management using routinely collected general practice electronic medical record data.

Key findings:

In Chlamydia trachomatis infection, 10% of the 16-29-year-olds were tested, 89% of those with chlamydia infection had guideline-recommended antibiotic prescription records, and 23% of those with appropriate antibiotic records were re-tested within 6 weeks to four months of their diagnosis.
In Neisseria gonorrhoea infection, 6% of 16-89-year-olds were tested, 48% of those with gonorrhoea infection had guideline-recommended antibiotic prescription records, and 32% of those with appropriate antibiotic records were retested six weeks to six months after treatment.

Further work in integrating Australian STI guidelines into primary routine care and understanding care pathways for people with chlamydia and gonorrhoea infections is warranted.