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California's
pediatricians-in-training are not sufficiently educated about the methods to
prevent recurrent sexually transmitted infections in teens, according to a
study from the Stanford University School of Medicine and Lucile Packard
Children's Hospital.
The study examined pediatric
residents' knowledge of laws governing treatment of their patients' sexual
partners. If the pediatrician does not treat the patient’s partner, the patient
gets re-infected, states Neville Golden, MD, professor of pediatrics at
Stanford and an adolescent medicine specialist at Packard Children's Hospital.
Golden is the senior author of a
study published Sept. 17 in the journal Pediatrics that examines whether
California pediatric residents (doctors in training) are aware of expedited
partner therapy (EPT) laws, which were introduced in California in 2001 and
have since been adopted in 30 additional states.
These laws allow physicians to
prescribe antibiotics to the sexual partners of chlamydia and gonorrhea
patients without seeing the partner. EPT helps doctors stop sexually
transmitted diseases from bouncing back and forth within a couple.
Approximately 50% of the pediatric
residents had never used the practice, despite the fact that most had diagnosed
STDs among their patients, the study found. There was greater knowledge of EPT
in physicians enrolled in the state's three residency programs that offer
fellowships in adolescent medicine.
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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