Background: Contact tracing is one of the measures used to control genital Chlamydia trachomatis infections.
Goal of this study: To assess important variables of contact tracing in an everyday clinical setting.
Study design: Patients reported according to the STD Act were studied in a prospective, consecutive county-based study.
Results: A total of 149 patients had a mean of 2.2 partners. The social worker's patients reported significantly more partners than the physicians' patients. The median number of patients at the 26 involved institutions was 3. Treatment without a prior examination was prescribed to 4% of the partners; 95% of all notified partners were examined, and a majority of them were chlamydia-infected.
Conclusion: The requirements of the STD Act in Sweden are being followed reasonably well by health providers responsible for contact tracing, although an experienced social worker seems to get better results.