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Continuity Clinic Notebook:

Chapter III. Adolescent Issues

Chapter 3 Index

A. General

B. Skin

C. Orthopedics

D. Genitourinary:
--Hormonal Contraception for Adolescents

--Dysmenorrhea

--Dysfunctional Uterine Bleeding

 

Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs)

Reda Bassali, MD

Incidence: One of six sexually active adolescents gets 1 STD a year.

Risk Factors: Alcohol the most associated with STDs; multiple partners; drugs; no barriers.

Prevention and treatment: All sexually active adolescents should have yearly exam. Many of the STDs can be asymptomatic and need to be diagnosed on exam:

  • females: pelvic exam with cultures and pap smear
  • males: genital exam and urinalysis; if pyuria without bacteria, consider STD

1. Vaginitis: Candida, Trichomonas Vaginalis, BV (Gardnerella), HSV

a. Candida Albicans: Colonization does not mean infection; 10-15% of women colonized with this organism.  Not necessarily sexually transmitted.

  • symptoms: itching with scant curd-like discharge; area can be red or eroded
  • diagnosis: KOH prep shows budding yeast; pH is normal (3.5 to 4.5)
  • treatment: Topical meds usually suffice: Clotrimazole (Mycelex), Miconazole (Monistat 7), Terazole (once a day); if too painful to treat topically, use oral Fluconazole (150 mg po once).

b. Bacterial Vaginosis (BV): (Gardnerella vaginalis, anaerobes, and mycoplasma)

  • incidence: 40-60% of sexually active adolescents have this organism
  • symptoms: thin discharge with fishy odor (positive whiff test)
  • diagnosis: Clue cells: > 20% epithelial cells covered with rods; pH > 4.5
  • treatment: Flagyl 500 mg BID x 7 days po (preferred) or Flagyl 2 grams x 1 dose

c. Trichimonas Vaginalis: 10-15% are asymptomatic; very common infection

  • symptoms: itching, dysuria, frothy white discharge
  • diagnosis: clinical: strawberry spots on red cervix laboratory: wet prep: motile flagellated trichomonads; pH > 4.5
  • treatment: Flagyl 2 gm po x 1 dose (do pregnancy test on all prescribed this med). If infection is resistant, use Flagyl 250 TID. Always treat partner.

Clinical differentiation of these three causes of vaginitis:

  pH (nl 3.5-4.5) Itching Whiff test
Candida Normal Yes No
Trichomonas > 4.5 Yes Possible
BV > 4.5 No Yes

2. Cervicitis: caused by Gonorrhea, Chlamydia, HPV and Trichomonas, HSV

a. Gonorrhea (Neisseria gonorrhea): Most common reportable infectious disease in US

  • symptoms: mucopurulent discharge, bleeding, dysuria, proctitis, pharyngitis, and  arthritis epididymitis, pustules.
  • diagnosis: gram stain: gram negative intracellular diplococci; culture; PCR replaced LCR: must use endocervical swab; results in 2 days
  • treatment: Rocephin (ceftriaxone) 125 mg IM or Suprax (cefixime) 400 mg x 1. If disseminated disease: use Rocephin 1 gm IV/day x 7-10 days.

Note: If patient is treated for GC, s/he should also be treated for Chlamydia.

b. Chlamydia (Chlamydia Trachomatis):

  • incidence: most common bacterial STD: up to 40% of sexually active teenagers
  • symptoms: 80% are asymptomatic; can have cervicitis with d/c and bleeding some (8%) progress to PID/infertility/chronic pelvic disease
  • diagnosis: culture, fluorescent antibodies, ELISA, PCR
  • treatment: of choice: Azithromycin 1 gm x 1 dose; doxycycline 100 mg BID

Note: even though treat all GC patients for Chlamydia, treat only Chlamydia if make that diagnosis. Don’t reculture.

3. Viral STDs: HSV, HPV

a. Herpes Simplex: must differentiate between types 1 and 2: if find 2: sexual abuse

  • incidence: 75% are asymptomatic, but 35 million have this infection in the US and there is a 90% recurrence of type HSV 2.
  • symptoms: painful blisters, ulcers; can be systemic with fever, myalgia, headache
  • transmission: 85% of contacts will contract this infection
  • diagnosis: Tzanck prep: multinucleated cells; fluorescent antibody test; culture
  • treatment: Acyclovir 400 mg po TID x 7-10 days; Local: sitz baths, lidocaine gel. Recurrent infection: Acyclovir 200-400 mg BID long-term (> 5 episodes/yr)

b. HPV (human papilloma virus):70 subtypes; types 16 and 18 associated with cervical ca 

  • incidence: fairly common, but no statistics available; present with condylomas. 70 subtypes; types 16 and 18 associated with cervical cancer
  • symptoms: warts associated with early sexual activity and with multiple partners.
  • diagnosis: presence of warts, pap smear can diagnose: squamous intraepithelial lesions; (SIL) - formerly called cervical intraepithelial neoplasia. (CIN)
  • treatment: difficult: can use chemical treatments: podophyllin, acetic acid, lasers; creams: aldara(imiquimod)

4.  Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID) caused by many different organisms: Gonorrhea, Chlamydia, Bacteroides, E. Coli, Mycoplasma Hominis, Peptostreptococcus, Peptococcus, and Ureaplasma Urealyticum): A clinical diagnosis

  • symptoms: must have systemic symptoms along with local symptoms: lower abdominal pain, increased vaginal discharge, irregular bleeding, dysuria, emesis
  • signs: marked adnexal tenderness (90%), fever, cervical motion tenderness
  • diagnosis: history and physical exam.  If suspect a tubo-ovarian abscess: ultrasound; Gold Standard if diagnosis is in doubt: laparoscopy. Often confused with appendicitis; must always rule out ectopic pregnancy (do pregnancy test on all PID patients)
  • treatment: hospitalize all patients.  Cefoxitin 2 gm IV every 6 hours plus Doxycycline; If must treat as outpatient: Rocephin 250 IM + Doxycycline 100 po bid x 10-14d
  • complications: Infertility: after one episode: 13%; two: 50%; three episodes: 75%.

Rewritten 5/01

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Department of Pediatrics  |  Medical College of Georgia
Please email comments, suggestions or questions to:
John T.  Benjamin M.D., 
jbenj@mcg.edu

February 27, 2004