Abstract

OBJECTIVE
The prevalence of gonorrhoea has increased worldwide in the last few years. Gonorrhoea is one of the most common sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in the world, and is a serious public health problem because of its associated morbidity and complications. The objective of this study was to estimate the frequency of gonorrhoea-related hospitalisations in Spain between the years 1997 and 2006.
STUDY DESIGN
A retrospective epidemiological study was conducted using data from the National Epidemiological Surveillance System (Minimum Data Set [MDS]), where all of the gonorrhoea-related hospitalisations that occurred in Spain during this period were analysed. We calculated the general hospitalisation rates, mortality, case-fatality rate, and length of stay by gender and age.
RESULTS
During the course of the study, 928 hospitalisations occurred with a discharge diagnosis of gonorrhoea infection (International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision, Clinical Modification: ICD 9 CM 098.0-098.89 at any diagnostic position), which represented a hospitalisation rate of 0.23 per 100,000 population, a mortality rate of 0.008 per 100,000 population, and a case-fatality of 3.77%. The main suspected causes of death were staphylococcal and streptococcal infections, malignant neoplasm and chronic diseases. The greatest hospitalisation rate was observed in children between the ages of 0 and 4years.
CONCLUSIONS
The gonorrhoea-related hospitalisation rate in Spain remained constant during the period of the study. A better understanding of the epidemiology of gonorrhoea will allow for the creation of effective preventive measures that will lead to a reduction in the number of new infections.

Links

Publisher Full Text

Authors

Ariza-Mejía MC, García-García L, González-Escalada A, Álvaro-Meca A, Gil-de-Miguel Á, Gil-Prieto R

Institution

Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health and Medical Immunology and Microbiology, Rey Juan Carlos University, Avda. Atenas s/n., 28922 Madrid, Spain. mc.ariza@alumnos.urjc.es

Source

Sexual & reproductive healthcare : official journal of the Swedish Association of Midwives 3:2 2012 Jun pg 89-92

MeSH

Adolescent
Adult
Age Distribution
Aged
Cause of Death
Child
Child, Preschool
Female
Gonorrhea
Hospital Mortality
Hospitalization
Humans
Infant
Infant, Newborn
Length of Stay
Male
Middle Aged
Retrospective Studies
Sex Distribution
Spain
Young Adult

Pub Type(s)

Journal Article

Language

eng

PubMed ID

22578756