Extragenital Screening of Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae Among Women in the College Health Setting.

BACKGROUND: Despite high frequencies of oral and receptive anal intercourse among young women, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention does not recommend routine oropharyngeal or anorectal screening for CT and GC. Risk-based extragenital screening of women has not been adopted at the majority of college health centers, and existing research has not focused on the female or college population. METHODS: We examined health records of women at a college health center in a large urban university for 3 years to evaluate the effectiveness of CT and GC screening. We also evaluated the proportion of CT and GC infections that would have been missed if risk-based extragenital screening was not performed. Decisions to screen at extragenital sites were based on patient-reported risk behavior. RESULTS: For 8027 unique chlamydia screens and 7907 unique gonorrhea screens, approximately 20% of the visits used extragenital screening in response to self-reported risk behaviors. More than 44% of patients were non-Hispanic White, and approximately 48% fell within the 20- to 24-year age group. The case positivity rates for CT were 2.85% with urogenital-only screening and 1.30% with risk-prompted extragenital screening (1.1% throat, 4.3% rectal). The case positivity rates for GC were 0.11% with urogenital-only screening and 0.37% with risk-prompted extragenital screening (0.37% throat, 0% rectal). If the college health center had relied solely on urogenital screening rather than adding risk-based extragenital screening, 4.41% of CT infections would have been missed and 28.57% of GC infections would have been missed. CONCLUSIONS: Nearly 1 of 22 CT infections and nearly 1 of 3 GC infections would have been missed without extragenital screening in this analysis of college women. Inclusion of risk-prompted extragenital screening in asymptomatic STD screening protocols can help clinicians diagnose CT and GC infections that would be have been missed with urogenital-only screening. Although rectal GC infections among women seem to be less common, oropharyngeal testing, in particular, for GC is suggested for women based on sexual risk. However, clinicians might only identify these risks if they ask patients directly about these potential exposures. Because guidelines exist only for men, future studies should focus on extragenital screening in college women to build the evidence that this particular population of patients may benefit from this practice, given the high risk of STDs in young adults.

The Case for Extragenital Screening of Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae in the College Health Setting.

BACKGROUND: Although the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention does not recommend routine oropharyngeal and anorectal screening for Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae in the general population, they do recommend it for men who have sex with men. However, risk-based extragenital screening of men may not have been adopted at all college health centers, and existing research has not focused on the college population. METHODS: We examined health records of men at a college health center in a large urban university over 6 years to evaluate effectiveness of C. trachomatis and N. gonorrhoeae screening. We also evaluated the proportion of C. trachomatis and N. gonorrhoeae infections that would have been missed if risk-based extragenital screening were not performed. Decisions to screen at extragenital sites were based on patient-reported risk behavior. RESULTS: For 4093 male college students screened, 7.6% of the screening visits used extragenital screening in response to self-reported risk behaviors. The case positivity rate for C. trachomatis was 3.1% with urogenital-only screening and 3.7% with risk-prompted extragenital screening. The case positivity rate for N. gonorrhoeae was 0.7% with urogenital-only screening and 3.3% with risk-prompted extragenital screening. If the college health center had relied solely on urogenital screening rather than risk-based extragenital screening, 26.4% of C. trachomatis infections and 63.2% of N. gonorrhoeae infections would have been missed. CONCLUSIONS: One out of four C. trachomatis infections and 2 of 3 N. gonorrhoeae infections would have been missed without extragenital screening in this analysis of college men. This study reinforces Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations for risk-based extragenital screening and is the first report to focus on college men. Because guidelines exist only for men, future studies should focus on extragenital screening in college women to build evidence for another group of patients that may benefit from this practice, given the high risk in young adults.

Notes from the Field: Outbreak of Cryptosporidiosis Among Veterinary Medicine Students--Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, February 2015.

On February 20, 2015, a northeastern university's student health center was notified of five veterinary medicine students with gastrointestinal symptoms. An investigation was conducted to establish the existence of an outbreak, determine the etiology, evaluate risk factors, and recommend control measures.

Trends in college students' mental health diagnoses and utilization of services, 2009-2015.

Objective: To examine changes in diagnoses/treatment for 12 mental health (MH) conditions, previous use of campus MH services, and willingness to seek MH services in the future. Participants: ACHA-NCHA II participants from 2009 to 2015 (n = 454,029). Methods: Hierarchical binary logistic regression with step 1 controlling for demographics and step 2 considering time. Results: Time was significant except for bipolar disorder, bulimia, and schizophrenia with increases for all conditions except substance abuse. Anxiety (OR = 1.68), panic attacks (OR = 1.61), and ADHD (OR = 1.40) had the highest odd ratios. Use of MH services at current institution (OR = 1.30) and willingness to utilize services in the future (OR = 1.37) also increased over time. Conclusions: Based on a national sample, self-reported diagnoses/treatment of several MH conditions are increasing among college students. This examination of a variety of MH issues can aid college health professionals to engage institutional stakeholders regarding the resources needed to support college students' MH.