TY - JOUR
T1 - Demographic and Other Characteristics, and Rates of Sexually Transmitted Infections among Adolescents Who Underwent Multiple Abortions in 1 Year
AU - Gokhale, Priyanka
AU - Madrigal, Jessica M.
AU - Aparicio, Juan
AU - Shim, Jessica Y.
AU - Patel, Ashlesha
PY - 2018/12
Y1 - 2018/12
N2 - Study Objective: To examine characteristics of adolescent patients presenting for multiple terminations within 1 year and evaluate sexually transmitted infection (STI) status at each visit. Design, Setting, and Participants: Cross-sectional retrospective chart review to identify women younger than age 20 years who underwent multiple abortions during 1 year at John H. Stroger, Jr Hospital of Cook County. Interventions: None. Main Outcome Measures: Rates and results of STI testing at each abortion encounter. Results: We identified 381 adolescent patients with 2 or more abortions in 1 year. Of the 285 women who received STI testing at both clinical encounters, we identified 12 women with Chlamydia trachomatis (CT)/Neisseria gonorrhoeae (GC) coinfection. Among patients who were not coinfected, 47 of 273 (17.2%) and 4 of 273 (1.5%) tested positive for CT and GC at the initial visit, respectively. Among women who were STI negative at the time of their first abortion, 25 of 226 (11.1%) were positive for CT and 1 of 269 (0.37%) was positive for GC at the time of their second termination. Conclusion: Young women in our study had higher baseline rates of CT and GC than rates reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for an age-matched population. High rates of positivity at the second visit might indicate a need for increased health education and/or frequency of testing in high-risk groups. In the adolescent population for whom patient encounters can be limited, the abortion care visit provides an opportunity to provide education and mitigate risk.
AB - Study Objective: To examine characteristics of adolescent patients presenting for multiple terminations within 1 year and evaluate sexually transmitted infection (STI) status at each visit. Design, Setting, and Participants: Cross-sectional retrospective chart review to identify women younger than age 20 years who underwent multiple abortions during 1 year at John H. Stroger, Jr Hospital of Cook County. Interventions: None. Main Outcome Measures: Rates and results of STI testing at each abortion encounter. Results: We identified 381 adolescent patients with 2 or more abortions in 1 year. Of the 285 women who received STI testing at both clinical encounters, we identified 12 women with Chlamydia trachomatis (CT)/Neisseria gonorrhoeae (GC) coinfection. Among patients who were not coinfected, 47 of 273 (17.2%) and 4 of 273 (1.5%) tested positive for CT and GC at the initial visit, respectively. Among women who were STI negative at the time of their first abortion, 25 of 226 (11.1%) were positive for CT and 1 of 269 (0.37%) was positive for GC at the time of their second termination. Conclusion: Young women in our study had higher baseline rates of CT and GC than rates reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for an age-matched population. High rates of positivity at the second visit might indicate a need for increased health education and/or frequency of testing in high-risk groups. In the adolescent population for whom patient encounters can be limited, the abortion care visit provides an opportunity to provide education and mitigate risk.
KW - Adolescent sexual behaviors
KW - Chlamydia trachomatis
KW - Multiple abortions
KW - Neisseria gonorrhoeae
KW - Sexually transmitted infection
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U2 - 10.1016/j.jpag.2018.07.011
DO - 10.1016/j.jpag.2018.07.011
M3 - Article
C2 - 30081083
AN - SCOPUS:85053714319
VL - 31
SP - 610
EP - 613
JO - Journal of Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology
JF - Journal of Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology
SN - 1083-3188
IS - 6
ER -