Abstract
Background Sexual health services should ask all high risk attenders about drug and alcohol use. However, the impact of drug and alcohol use on STI epidemiology remains uncertain. Aims To audit drug and alcohol history taking after introduction of a screening tool and to describe the patterns of use and associations with STI diagnoses. Methods An anonymised database of all clients attending in 2015 was constructed including basic demographics, reported drug and alcohol history, HIV status and STI diagnoses. Results 48,654 clients were seen in 2015. 26,429 (54%) were asked about drug and/or alcohol use at least once. Use of any drug or excess alcohol was reported by 16% and was associated with higher rates of STIs (24 vs 10%, p Conclusions The audit showed room for improvement in history taking. Chemsex drugs are associated with the highest risk of STIs. This relationship might not be causal. Party drug use was associated with some STIs. The audit supports drug and alcohol histories for all MSM as well as heterosexual men and women attending with STIs.
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