STI screening guidelines described as woefully inadequate

Current screening guidelines for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are “woefully inadequate”, research claims.

A report published in the journal BMC Medicine today investigated chlamydia and gonorrhoea infections among sexually-active girls aged 15 to 19.

Researchers compared screening methods recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO) with definitive laboratory methods and discovered a worrying discrepancy.

The study attempted to diagnose infection using the WHO risk assessment score – a questionnaire concerning sexual practices, reproductive life and gynaecological symptoms – and a gynaecological examination.

They found that only 32 per cent of women with a confirmed infection were correctly identified using the WHO risk assessment. The gynaecological examination results were slightly better, with a maximum sensitivity of 43.5 per cent.

Commenting on the results, the author said: “The low sensitivity of the risk assessment score should be of major public health concern and implies that it should not be used as a screening tool or a diagnostic test among asymptomatic or poorly symptomatic women.”

The author concluded that the development of rapid and less costly tests for chlamydia and gonorrhoea diagnosis in resource-poor public health services is urgently needed.