CDC guidelines update treatment, management of STDs

(HealthDay)—New recommendations have been provided to update the 2010 guidelines on the treatment and management of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). The 2015 guidelines are available online in the June 5 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Kimberly A. Workowski, M.D., from the CDC and Emory University in Atlanta, and members of a multidisciplinary workgroup identified key issues regarding treatment and clinical management of STDs that were not covered in the Sexually Transmitted Diseases Treatment Guidelines from 2010.

In the updated guidelines, the researchers address alternative treatment regimens for Neisseria gonorrhoeae; use of nucleic acid amplification tests for trichomoniasis diagnosis; alternative treatment options for genital warts; the role of Mycoplasma genitalium in urethritis/cervicitis and implications related to treatment. The guidelines also cover updated human papillomavirus vaccine recommendations and counseling messages; clinical management of transgender individuals; annual hepatitis C testing in HIV-infected individuals; updated diagnostic recommendations for urethritis; and retesting to detect repeat infection.

"Physicians and other health care providers can use these guidelines to assist in the prevention and treatment of STDs," the authors write.

Several authors disclosed financial ties to the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries.