Table 1.
Characteristics of men with symptoms of urethritis attending an urban Alabama STI clinic by time to care provision
| Variable | Overall N=155 |
Sought care within 7 days N=112 (72.3%) |
Sought care after 7 days N=43 (27.7%) |
p-value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age | 24.0 (18.0–65.0) | 25.0 (18.0–65.0) | 24.0 (19.0–55.0) | 0.75 |
| Partner Type | 0.65 | |||
| Women | 142 (92.2%) | 103 (92.0%) | 39 (92.9%) | |
| Men | 9 (5.84%) | 6 (5.36%) | 3 (7.14%) | |
| Women and Men | 3 (1.95%) | 3 (2.68%) | 0 (0%) | |
| Days participant worried they may have an STI | 4.00 (1.00–90.0) | 4.00 (1.00–21.0) | 14.0 (2.00–90.0) | <0.001 |
| Attempted remedies to self-treat symptoms | 24 (15.6%) | 12 (10.7%) | 12 (28.6%) | 0.01 |
| Total Lifetime Sexual Partners | 18.0 (3.0–1200) | 20.0 (3.00–1200) | 14.0 (3.00–200) | 0.26 |
| History of STDs | 115 (76.2%) | 87 (79.8%) | 28 (66.7%) | 0.09 |
| Number of partners in the last 30 days | 1 (0–10) | 1 (0–10) | 1 (0–4) | <0.001 |
| Number of new partners in the last 30 days | 0 (0–5) | 1 (0–5) | 0 (0–3) | 0.01 |
| Continued engaging in sexual activity after symptom onset | 57 (36.8%) | 31 (27.7%) | 26 (60.5%) | <0.001 |
| Condom use last sex | 47 (30.5%) | 39 (35.1%) | 8 (18.6%) | 0.05 |
| Circumcised | 138 (90.2%) | 98 (89.1%) | 40 (93.0%) | 0.56 |
| Discharge from penis on physical exam | 101 (66.5%) | 81 (74.3%) | 20 (46.5%) | 0.001 |
| ≥5 PMNs | 110 (71.0%) | 89 (79.5%) | 21 (48.8%) | <0.001 |
| GeneXpert® CT Positive | 51 (32.9%) | 35 (31.3%) | 16 (37.2%) | 0.69 |
| GeneXpert® NG Positive | 55 (35.5%) | 47 (42.0%) | 8 (18.6%) | 0.01 |
| CT and NG Coinfection | 23 (15.1%) | 16 (14.7%) | 7 (16.3%) | 0.81 |
| Urethritis Type | <0.001 | |||
| Gonococcal Urethritis | 55 (35.5%) | 47 (42.0%) | 8 (18.6%) | |
| Chlamydial NGU, ≥5 PMNs | 25 (16.1%) | 16 (14.3%) | 9 (20.9%) | |
| Chlamydial NGU, <5PMNs | 6 (3.87%) | 4 (3.57%) | 2 (4.65%) | |
| NCNGU | 31 (20.0%) | 27 (24.1%) | 4 (9.30%) | |
| Not urethritis | 38 (24.5%) | 18 (16.1%) | 20 (46.5%) |
Note: Values expressed as N (%), Mean ± Standard Deviation, or Median (Range); p-values for Comparisons across Groups for Categorical Variables are Based on Chi-square Test or Fisher’s Exact Tests where appropriate; p-values for Continuous Variables are Based on ANOVA or Kruskal-Wallis Test for Median; CT= Chlamydia trachomatis; NG= Neisseria gonorrhoeae; PMN=polymorphonuclear leukocytes; NGU=non-gonococcal urethritis; NCNGU=non-chlamydial non-gonococcal urethritis