Current Inpatient Screening Practices for Sexual History and STIs: An Opportunity to Seize

Abstract

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends utilizing hospitalizations as an opportunity to provide sexual health screenings for adolescents. This study aimed to describe the current practice of sexual history documentation (SHxD) and sexually transmitted infection (STI) testing among adolescents admitted to a pediatric hospital medicine service. Retrospective cross-sectional study of adolescents (14-19 years old) admitted to the PHM service from 2017-2019 was performed at an academic children’s health system. Patient (demographics, history of complex chronic condition, and insurance), hospitalization (length of stay, diagnosis, STI tests ordered/results), and physician (level of training and gender) characteristics were extracted for each encounter. A natural language processing algorithm identified the presence of SHxD. Univariate analysis and multivariable analysis were performed to detect factors associated with SHxD and STI screening. The prevalence of STIs was calculated for those who were tested. Out of 2242 encounters, SHxD and STI testing rates were 40.9% and 17.2%, respectively. Patient gender, race, lack of complex chronic condition, and resident involvement were predictive of SHxD and STI testing. SHxD increased the odds of STI testing significantly (OR 5.06, CI 3.90-6.58). Among those who were tested, the prevalence of STIs was highest for chlamydia (37/329, 11.2%). Overall, sexual health screening rates remain low in the hospital setting and future improvement initiatives are needed.