977. Bacterial STI Diagnoses as Missed Opportunities for HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis

Abstract

Background. New HIV diagnoses in the United States have remained stagnant while the incidence has increased among certain groups; additional efforts towards HIV prevention are needed. Most adults who could benefit from HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) in the United States are not receiving it. Many of these individuals present for healthcare visits for bacterial sexually transmitted infection (STI), an indication for PrEP in both men who have sex with men (MSM) and heterosexual individuals; we sought to characterize these visits and identify missed opportunities for PrEP prescription to inform future PrEP expansion efforts. Methods. A retrospective chart review was conducted for all healthcare encounters of adult patients newly diagnosed with a bacterial STI within the UC Davis Health electronic medical record between January 1, 2017 and December 31, 2017. A bacterial STI was defined as a positive test result for gonorrhea, chlamydia, or syphilis. Patients were excluded if they had HIV, were pregnant or a prisoner, or if they were a woman or heterosexual man with a positive test result for chlamydia (not an indication for PrEP per CDC guidelines). Patient demographic, clinical, and visit-specific data were recorded; characteristics were described using frequencies for categorical variables, and median and quartiles for quantitative variables. Results. 205 encounters for bacterial STI were identified as potential opportunities for PrEP. The majority of PrEP candidates presented to the emergency department for their STI (44%), while 40% and 16% of encounters occurred in outpatient and inpatient settings, respectively. The majority of PrEP candidates were not offered PrEP within 6 months of their encounter for STI (86%). Of the 14% of PrEP candidates who were offered PrEP within 6 months of their STI diagnosis, the majority had presented to the outpatient setting for their STI (93%). Conclusion. Visits to the emergency department for bacterial STI represent a disproportionate missed opportunity for PrEP discussion & prescription. Future PrEP expansion efforts should address emergency department visits as opportunities for linkage to PrEP and/or PrEP prescription.