The United States has seen a > 40% increase in syphilis cases since 2017. Early disease identification and treatment are crucial. This review sought to identify emergency department (ED) patients at risk for syphilis.
Methods
A 30-day retrospective review was conducted of visits to a single ED. Patient visits were assessed for predetermined syphilis “flags” to include a history of sexually transmitted infection (STI), current chief complaint or reason for visit (RFV) keyword(s) suggestive of potential STI or a positive pregnancy test result. Flagged charts were assessed for STI testing results within 6 months of ED visit. Data were analyzed using χ2.
Results
There were 5537 total patient encounters, resulting in 455 flagged visits from 408 (8.4%) unique individuals, majority of whom were female (282, 69.1%; P