AEGiS-14IAC: Syndromic treatment of sexually transmitted infections (STI): a Western Cape community pharmacist study.

14th International AIDS Conference

Barcelona, Spain - July 7-12, 2002

Syndromic treatment of sexually transmitted infections (STI): a Western Cape community pharmacist study.

Int Conf AIDS 2002 Jul 7-12; 14:(abstract no. TuOrD1155)

Ward KL, Butler N, Mugabo P, Schwarcz SK, McFarland W, Klausner J
University of the Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa

BACKGROUND: South Africa has one of the fastest growing HIV-1 epidemics in the world. As STIs have been associated with incident HIV infections, the control of STIs, using syndromic management, is one of the main strategies to reduce the HIV transmission. Currently pharmacists are not allowed to diagnose and treat STIs, but some pharmacists in privately owned community/retail pharmacies likely offer these services. While the treatment practices of general practitioners and nurses are well documented, no literature is available on the utilisation of pharmacists for STI care in South Africa.

METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional survey of 90 community pharmacists in the Western Cape, South Africa, where an estimated that 200 000 STI cases are seen in community pharmacies annually. We sought to confirm that community pharmacies are a source of STI care and to describe the views of pharmacists regarding their utilisation as STI care providers and the treatment practices of those who currently provide this service to the community.

RESULTS: The majority (74.1%) of pharmacists view their current role in STI treatment as under-utilised. A high proportion of pharmacists expressed some degree of interest in providing STI care, with 50.6% expressing strong willingness and 47.1% expressing slight willingness to provide syndromic STI treatment services. Pharmacists' knowledge of the link between HIV and STIs is associated with an increased willingness to provide STI syndromic treatment (RR= 3.03, 95%CI 1.45- 6.31, p=0.0004). The quality of STI treatment among community pharmacists is poor, with only 13.6% (n=44) of pharmacists prescribing the correct treatment for penile discharge, 6.3% (n=32) for genital ulcers and 0% (n=32) for vaginal discharge.

CONCLUSIONS: Our study underline the need for STI treatment services in community pharmacies and the need for a pharmacist training intervention in the syndromic treatment of STIs.

Keywords: AEGIS, Pharmacists, Pharmacies, HIV Infections, HIV-1, Cross-Sectional Studies, Vaginal Discharge, South Africa, Female, therapy

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