Expedited partner therapy for adolescents diagnosed with chlamydia or gonorrhea: a position paper of the Society for Adolescent Medicine.

Chlamydia and gonorrhea, the most frequently reported sexually transmitted infections (STIs), present substantial public health challenges among adolescents. Although these infections are easily treated with antibiotics, many adolescents are reinfected within 3–6 months, usually because their partners remain untreated. The standard approaches to notifying and treating a partner of an STI-infected patient are patient referral, whereby the patient notifies his/her partners to seek care, and provider referral, whereby the provider or public health disease intervention specialist notifies the partner and directs him/her toward treatment. These methods rely on the accuracy of the disclosed partner information as well as other limitations, such as compliance and staffing resources. Another approach to partner notification is expedited partner therapy (EPT), treating sex partners without requiring a prior clinical evaluation. In randomized trials, EPT has reduced the rates of persistent or recurrent gonorrhea and chlamydia infection; however, its routine use is limited by concerns related to liability, cost, compliance, and missed opportunities for prevention counseling. The Society for Adolescent Medicine (SAM) recommends that providers who care for adolescents should do the following: use EPT as an option for STI care among chlamydiaor gonorrheainfected heterosexual males and females who are unlikely or unable to otherwise receive treatment; through SAM and AAP chapters, collaborate with policy makers to remove EPT legal barriers and facilitate reimbursement; and collaborate with health departments for implementation assistance.