Evaluation of Clinician-Reported Adherence to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Guidelines for the Treatment of Chlamydia Trachomatis in Two U.S. Health Plans

The authors of the current study sought to assess clinician adherence to CDC-recommended treatments for Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) in two health plans.

From 1999 to 2000, clinicians were mailed a survey that used hypothetical scenarios to determine how they would treat a patient with cervicitis (CT and gonorrhea treatment recommended) and two patients with laboratory-confirmed CT, including an injection drug user (single-dose azithromycin promotes adherence) and a pregnant patient (nonteratogenic drugs recommended).

Of the 907 nonretired clinicians who received the survey, 743 (82 percent) completed it. Five hundred ninety-nine (91 percent) participants reported providing recent CT care. Of these, 70.1 percent said they would presumptively treat cervicitis patients for CT and gonorrhea, 17.1 percent for CT only, and 11.7 percent for neither pathogen. Of the 580 clinicians addressing IV drug users, 61.7 percent said they would prescribe azithromycin. Of the 343 clinicians seeing pregnant women, most (88.8 percent) said they would prescribe CDC-recommended antibiotics. Reported adherence varied by clinician specialty and sources of treatment guidance.

"Most clinicians reported treatment consistent with CDC guidelines," the authors concluded.

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