Pattern of Sexually Transmitted Infections: A Retrospective Study from a Tertiary Care Hospital in Central India

Abstract

Introduction: Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) pose a major health, social and economic problem worldwide, predominantly in developing countries like India. It is essential to understand the current patterns of STIs in the various regions of the country in order to plan and implement strategies to control the spread of infection. Aim: To study the pattern of STIs among patients attending the STI clinic. Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study of data obtained retrospectively from case records over last seven years (January 2013-December 2019) from STI clinic at a tertiary care hospital at Nagpur. The demographic details, detailed history, clinical findings were noted and relevant investigations were performed. The patients were diagnosed as per syndromic approach and subjected to serologic tests for syphilis and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). The data was analysed by using MS Excel and Epi Info software, and percentage, mean, standard deviation and proportions were calculated. Results: Out of the total 4471 cases, 2807 (62.8%) were males and 1664 (37.2%) were females. The most commonly observed STI was balanoposthitis, followed by cervico-vaginal discharge, Genital Ulcerative Disease- Herpetic (GUD-H), anogenital warts, molluscum contagiosum, GUD-nonherpetic, urethral discharge, lower abdominal pain and inguinal bubo. The proportion of viral STIs was 33.5% (1495 cases) and bacterial STIs were 4.3% (191 cases). The most commonly observed STI was balanoposthitis in males and cervico-vaginal discharge in females. Newly diagnosed cases of HIV were 1.4% (61 cases) of total cases. Conclusion: The proportion of viral STIs was higher compared to bacterial STIs. The prevalence of HIV among study population was 3.9%. Since STIs are indicators of high risk sexual behaviour in the community and a major health burden with risk of development of HIV, prompt diagnosis and adequate treatment of STIs is necessary.