724. Gastrointestinal (GI) PCR vs Stool Cultures: Impact on Length of Hospital Stay (LOS) and Antibiotic Use

Abstract

Background. Given that many youth and young adults utilize multiple orifices during sexual activity, testing for STIs from multiple anatomical sites can increase rates of diagnosis. However, during the COVID pandemic, obtaining oral swabs by clin- ical staff was deemed an unacceptable COVID transmission risk and was discontinued in our clinic. To circumvent this obstacle to diagnosis, clinic staff developed a work- around of obtaining patient collected pharyngeal swabs for STI testing. This abstract reviews the results of this pilot intervention.