HIV and syphilis screening rates are low among adolescents who are diagnosed with pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) in the emergency department, according to a study published in the August issue of Pediatrics.

Amanda Jichlinski, M.D., from the Children's National Health System in Washington, D.C., and colleagues used data from the Pediatric Health Information System (2010 to 2015) to identify 10,698 visits to the emergency department by female adolescents who were diagnosed with PID. The frequency of HIV and syphilis screening at these visits was assessed.

The researchers found that 22.0 percent of patients underwent HIV screening, and 27.7 percent underwent syphilis screening. Hospitals varied in screening rates for HIV and syphilis from approximately 3 to 60 percent. Screening was more likely to occur in patients who were non-Hispanic African-American (HIV: adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 1.4; syphilis: aOR, 1.8). Screening was also more likely for non-privately insured patients (HIV: publicly insured aOR, 1.3; uninsured aOR, 1.6; syphilis: publicly insured aOR, 1.4; uninsured aOR, 1.6), and admitted patients (HIV: aOR, 7.0; syphilis: aOR, 4.6), as well as at smaller hospitals (HIV: aOR, 1.4).

"We found low rates of HIV and syphilis screening among adolescents who were diagnosed with PID, with wide variability across hospitals," the authors write.

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