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Q In patients with sexually transmitted infections (STIs), is the addition of partner notification interventions more effective than patient referral alone for reducing persistent or recurrent infections (PRIs)?
Clinical impact ratings GP/FP/Primary care ★★★★★☆☆ Infectious disease ★★★★★★☆ Gynaecology ★★★★★☆☆ Public health ★★★★★☆☆
METHODS
Data sources:
Medline, EMBASE/Excerpta Medica, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, PsycINFO, Sigle, and DARE (all from 1990 to 2005); 2 electronic research registers (International Standard Randomised Controlled Trial Number Register and clinicaltrials.gov); and reference lists.
Study selection and assessment:
randomised controlled trials (RCTs) that compared patient referral alone with simple referral plus additional partner notification interventions, including patient-delivered partner therapy (PDPT) (ie, patients were given drugs or a prescription for their partners) in patients with STIs. Patient referral involved index patients informing their sexual partners about the infection and advising them to seek treatment, with or without clinic contact cards. 14 RCTs (n = 12 389; STIs included gonorrhoea, chlamydia, non-gonococcal urethritis, trichomoniasis, or an STI syndrome) evaluating 16 interventions met …
Footnotes
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↵* Calculated from data in article.
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For correspondence: Dr N Low, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland. low{at}ispm.unibe.ch
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Source of funding: UK National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence.