Comparing rates of sexually transmitted infections (STI) in underserved pregnant patients across COVID-19 waves

Abstract

National surveillance data indicates increasing rates of STI among minority patients since the COVID-19 pandemic began. This study aimed to determine if the rate of composite STI differed with each subsequent wave of COVID-19 among pregnant patients in two safety-net hospitals in Southeast Texas. A prospective cohort study was performed on singleton pregnant patients who sought care and delivered in two safety-net hospitals from March 2020 through January 2022 in Southeast Texas. Patient information was collected prospectively via medical chart review. Composite STI infections included syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia, HIV, hepatitis, and other STIs. Three COVID-19 waves were compared and defined as Wave 1, Delta, and Omicron. Wave 1 cases were determined to be patients who delivered between March 2020 and May 2021. Delta cases were determined to be patients who delivered between June 2021 and November 2021. Omicron cases were determined to be patients who delivered between November 2021 and January 2022. A Poisson regression model with robust error variance was used to calculate adjusted relative risk (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). Of the 5216 patients that sought care and delivered within the study period, the Wave 1, Delta, and Omicron groups included 3202, 1613, and 401 patients respectively (Table 1). The majority of patients were Hispanic (58.6%). The rates of the composite STI were 1.8% (n=57) during Wave 1, 1.6% (n=25) during Delta, and 2.5% (n=10) during Omicron. After multivariate adjustment, compared to Wave 1, there was no significant difference in the rate of composite STI in the Delta group (aRR = 0.57, 95% CI=0.32-1.00) or in Omicron group (aRR = 0.83, 95% CI=0.38-1.79). No significant difference was noted in the rate of composite STI across all waves of the COVID-19 pandemic in our study population. This data can be used to inform health agencies regarding the effect of the pandemic waves on STI rates among underserved pregnant patients.View Large Image Figure ViewerDownload Hi-res image Download (PPT)