O10.4 Incidence and duration of pharyngeal Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) among a cohort of men who have sex with men (MSM)
Year: 2021
Type: conference-abstract
Abstract: Background The prevalence of pharyngeal CT is low but its incidence and duration are unknown. A high incidence and/or duration may support the role of pharyngeal CT in sustaining CT transmission among MSM. Methods From March 2016 to December 2018 we enrolled MSM in a 48-week natural history cohort study in Seattle, Washington. Participants self-collected pharyngeal specimens weekly. We tested specimens using nucleic acid amplification testing (Aptima Combo-2) at the conclusion of the study. In primary analyses, we defined incident pharyngeal CT as ≥2 consecutive weeks with a CT-positive pharyngeal specimen. In sensitivity analyses, we defined incident pharyngeal CT as ≥1 week of a CT-positive specimen. We used Kaplan Meier methods to estimate the duration of pharyngeal CT, censoring at loss to follow-up, receipt of antibiotics, or end of study. We tested for differences in duration with the log-rank test. Results 140 participants contributed 70.5 person-years (PY) of follow-up. The mean age was 37, 51% were living with HIV, and 34% had CT in the past year. Two (1.4%) MSM had pharyngeal CT at enrollment and 16 (11.4%) tested positive for pharyngeal CT during ≥1 week of follow-up. In primary analyses, there were 8 pharyngeal CT cases among 6 MSM (incidence=11.4 per 100 PY; 95% CI=6.0–21.9). In sensitivity analysis, there were 19 cases among 16 MSM (incidence=27.1 per 100 PY; 95% CI=18.5–39.8). Median duration of pharyngeal CT was 6.0 weeks in primary analyses and 2.0 weeks in sensitivity analysis. In primary analysis, median duration was significantly shorter for those with a history of CT (3.6 weeks) vs. no history of CT (8.7 weeks), and significantly shorter for those living with HIV. Conclusion Incident pharyngeal CT was relatively common but the duration of infection was short, supporting the theory that pharyngeal CT likely contributes little to sustained population-transmission of CT.
Source: Sexually Transmitted Infections
Authors: C Khosropour, O Soge, M Golden, J Hughes, L Barbee
Language: English
Subfield: Microbiology
Field: Immunology and Microbiology
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W3182298889