Gonorrhoea: To screen or not to screen
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Gonorrhoea: To screen or not to screen
IRAS ID
168621
Contact name
Jessica Woodburn
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Leeds Student Medical Practice
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 4 months, 1 days
Research summary
The aim of this study is to determine the value, in University practices, of screening asymptomatic patients for gonorrhoea. Gonorrhoea is the second most common sexually transmitted infection found in the UK, with the prevalence in those aged 18-24 years old being highest. Gonorrhoea can be asymptomatic in up to 50% of people infected with it and research shows that, if undiagnosed, it can go on to cause conditions such as pelvic inflammatory disease and testicular infection, these can have long term impacts on those infected with regards ongoing health and fertility. With their consent we currently screen all asymptomatic patients for Chlamydia in the same way as we would propose to screen for gonorrhoea, which will commence in January 2015 in my practice area. This involves sending a self-taken swab (for females) or urine sample (for males) from patients who do not exhibit any symptoms of gonorrhoea, to the local NHS laboratory for testing. Public Health England (PHE) is keen that screening for gonorrhoea should be offered in specialist sexual health clinics, and suggests that where prevalence of gonorrhoea exceeds 1% of the population, screening should also be introduced in other healthcare settings. PHE also suggests that where this information is not available or the prevalence of a certain population is not known, a pilot study should be performed over 3-6 months to determine the value of screening within that population. By capturing the first six weeks of data from the gonorrhoea screening at my practice I aim to evaluate the benefit of additional screening.
REC name
Wales REC 5
REC reference
14/WA/1266
Date of REC Opinion
6 Jan 2015
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion