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Sex Transm Infect 2004;80:392-394 doi:10.1136/sti.2003.005660
  • In practice

Risk factors associated with failure of syndromic treatment of sexually transmitted diseases among women seeking primary care in Addis Ababa

  1. D Wolday1,
  2. Z G-Mariam2,
  3. Z Mohammed3,
  4. H Meles1,
  5. T Messele1,
  6. W Seme4,
  7. A Geyid4,
  8. S Maayan5
  1. 1Ethio-Netherlands AIDS Research Project (ENARP), Ethiopian Health and Nutrition Research Institute (EHNRI), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
  2. 2Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, Black-Lion Teaching Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
  3. 3Tekle-Haymanot Health Center, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
  4. 4Microbiology Section, Ethiopian Health and Nutrition Research Institute (EHNRI), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
  5. 5AIDS Center, Hadassah University Hospital, Jerusalem, Israel
  1. Correspondence to:
 Dr D Wolday
 Ethio-Netherlands AIDS Research Project (ENARP), Ethiopian Health and Nutrition Research Institute (EHNRI), PO Box 8297, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; dawitenarp.com
  • Accepted 16 January 2004

Abstract

Objective: To determine risk factors associated with the failure of syndromic management of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) among women seeking treatment in primary healthcare centre in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Methods: Women with symptomatic STDs seeking care in a health centre were prospectively enrolled. A total of 259 women were interviewed and underwent clinical examination; 106 were enrolled and received syndromic STD treatment and 91% returned for follow up. Logistic regression analysis was used to identify risk factors associated with treatment failure.

Results: Of the 106 women enrolled and presenting with symptomatic STDs 67% were HIV seropositive. Syndromic STD treatment did not result in clinical improvement in 30% of the women. Having genital ulcer disease, genital ulcer disease with genital discharge, genital warts, bacterial vaginosis and plasma HIV-1 load >10 000 copies RNA/ml or being HIV seropositive were all significantly associated with treatment failure. In multivariate analysis, however, only genital ulcer disease was significantly associated with treatment failure.

Conclusion: In our setting, the association between HIV and genital ulcer disease caused by herpes may, therefore, be the reason for the failure of treatment.

Footnotes

  • Conflict of interest: None.

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