Frequencies of Negative Cultures in Clients Treated with Antibiotics for Suspected Chlamydia or Gonorrhea

Objective. This descriptive study was designed to determine the percentages of negative cultures among all clients age 18 years and older presumptively treated with antibiotics for suspected chlamydia and/or gonorrhea infections according to the guidelines of the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention in the Sexually Transmitted Disease (STD) Clinic of the Palm Beach County Health Department (PBCHD). Background. At present it remains unclear what proportion of patients treated for chlamydial and/or gonococcal infections with antibiotics presumptive treatment in the PBCHDSTD clinic have negative cultures. By determining the extent of negative cultures in people treated by antibiotics for those diseases, we can recommend directions of further search for possible better testing and treatment strategies. Methods. Clinic logs were reviewed for a case series of all 1209 clients treated from November 1, 2007 to October 31, 2008. Culture results were retrieved from Department of Health’s Health Management System. Results. Of the 1209, 556 (46%) were treated for chlamydia, 30 (2.6%) for gonorrhea, and 623 (51.5%) for both. The frequencies of negative cultures were 68% overall, 70.9% for chlamydia, 86.6% for gonorrhea, and 65.2% for both. Conclusions. These descriptive data indicate that implementation of the CDC guidelines by the PBCHDSTD Clinic results in treatment of a large majority of clients with negative cultures for chlamydia, gonorrhea, or both. They also suggest the possible need to develop treatment algorithms to maximize treatment of clients with positive cultures and minimize treatment of clients with negative cultures. Grants. PBCHD supported.