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The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) is calling for more states to adopt expedited partner therapy (EPT). The practice of providing the partners of STD patients with antibiotics is not permitted in eight states and is “potentially allowable” in 15 others, according to CDC.STDs disproportionally affect women and pose a significant threat to their fertility, says a new ACOG Committee Opinion issued Aug. 22. Doctors can expand STD prevention efforts by treating the sexual partners of women diagnosed with gonorrhea or chlamydia, since there is good chance of re-infection, it says. The benefits of EPT outweigh the risks, which include not being able to monitor treatment side effects, the group stressed. CDC estimates 2.8 million chlamydia and 700,000 gonorrhea infections occur annually in the United States.
Dr. Myron Cohen, who heads the infectious-diseases division at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill but is not affiliated with ACOG, agreed. Providers may end up giving antibiotics to healthy people, but in most cases a short course is tolerable and will not breed resistance, he said. “Over-treating has to be weighed against no partner management,” said Cohen. “I think clearly over-treatment is better.”
ACOG’s complete statement, “Committee Opinion No. 506: Expedited Partner Therapy in the Management of Gonorrhea and Chlamydia by Obstetrician-Gynecologists,” was published in the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology (2011;118(3):761-766). To view the document, visit http://bit.ly/o6M3i4.
The Friends of AIDS Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.
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