Table 3. Variables and their association with Neisseria gonorrhoeae in men.
dL: deciliter; ED: Emergency department; EMS: Emergency medical services; HPF: High-power field; mg: milligram; NA: Not applicable; OR: Odds ratio; PCP: Primary care physician; SD: Standard deviation; STD: Sexually transmitted disease; STI: Sexually transmitted infection; UTI: Urinary tract infection; vs: versus; WBC: White blood cell; y: year.
Adjusting for age, race, and emergency severity index score. ORs for continuous variables are stated as per unit change in regressor.
| + N gonorrhoeae | − N gonorrhoeae | P Value | Adjusted OR (95% CI) | Adjusted P Value | |
| Age, mean (SD), y | 26.4 (7.2) (n = 418) | 31.5 (11.2) (n = 2,703) | < .001 | .94 (.93-.96) | < .001 |
| Black race (vs not Black) | 93.0% (387/416) | 86.1% (2,312/2,685) | < .001 | 1.90 (1.26-2.85) | .002 |
| Married/life partner (vs not married) | 4.6% (19,418) | 9.3% (249/2,687) | .001 | .96 (.58-1.59) | .86 |
| Emergency severity index score, mean (SD), level 1-5 | 3.8 (.5) (n = 392) | 3.6 (.6) (n = 2,558) | < .001 | 1.46 (1.21-1.77) | < .001 |
| Having a (PCP) (vs none) | 17.5% (73/418) | 18.7% (505/2,703) | .59 | .91 (.69-1.22) | .54 |
| Arrived to ED by EMS/police (vs other) | 1.5% (6/412) | 3.8% (103/2,681) | .01 | .46 (.18-1.17) | .10 |
| ED triage pain scale, mean (SD) (0-10) | 2.4 (3.5) (n = 27) | 3.5 (3.8) (n = 231) | .17 | .77 (.47-1.26) | .30 |
| Mentioned “STD,” “STI,” “sexually transmitted,” “penis,” or “discharge” at ED point of contact (vs not) | 65.6% (274/418) | 44.4% (1,201/2,703) | < .001 | 1.77 (1.39-2.25) | < .001 |
| Mentioned “UTI,” “bladder infection” or “pain,” “urinary tract infection,” “cystitis,” “dysuria,” “frequency” or “frequent urination,” or “urgency” at ED point of contact (vs not) | 4.8% (20/418) | 4.6% (125/2,703) | .90 | 1.59 (.95-2.66) | .07 |
| Mentioned “abdominal pain,” “abdominal discomfort,” or “abdominal cramping” at ED point of contact (vs not) | 4.1% (17/418) | 6.0% (163/2,703) | .12 | .93 (.55-1.58) | .80 |
| Diagnosed in the ED with a urinary tract infection (vs not) | 8.6% (36/418) | 4.2% (113/2,703) | < .001 | 2.87 (1.88-4.39) | < .001 |
| Treated with metronidazole in the ED or given it as an outpatient prescription (vs not) | 44.5% (186/418) | 28.9% (780/2,703) | < .001 | 1.63 (1.30-2.05) | < .001 |
| Treated for gonorrhea and chlamydia (vs not) | 90.7% (379/418) | 57.6% (1,558/2,703) | < .001 | 6.40 (4.46-9.19) | < .001 |
| Infected with N gonorrhoeae (vs not) | 3.9% (5/127) | 9.5% (63/662) | .04 | .32 (.10-1.06) | .06 |
| Infected with T vaginalis (vs not) | 27.3% (114/418) | 12.6% (341/2,701) | < .001 | 1.94 (1.49-2.51) | < .001 |
| Urinalysis | |||||
| WBC count (cells/HPF), mean (SD) | 72.3 (36.3) (n = 192) | 23.2 (31.3) (n = 846) | < .001 | 1.03 (1.03-1.04) | < .001 |
| WBC clumps present (vs not) | 18.0% (34/189) | 6.7% (56/839) | < .001 | 3.65 (2.16-6.16) | < .001 |
| Mucus (0, 1+, 2+, 3+, or 4+), mean (SD) | 1.2 (1.4) (n = 192) | 1.2 (1.4) (n = 846) | .49 | .87 (.77-.99) | .04 |
| Leukocyte esterase (0, 1+, 2+, or 3+), mean (SD) | 2.1 (1.1) (n = 204) | 0.4 (.8) (n = 1,628) | < .001 | 3.99 (3.39-4.70) | < .001 |
| Bacteria (0, 1+, 2+, 3+, or 4+), mean (SD) | 0.6 (.8) (n = 192) | 0.6 (.9) (n = 845) | .51 | 1.07 (.87-1.31) | .53 |
| Nitrite positive (vs negative) | 1.9% (4/208) | 1.8% (30/1,641) | .79 | 2.86 (.92-8.89) | .07 |
| Blood (0, 1+, 2+, or 3+), mean (SD) | .4 (.6) (n = 205) | .3 (.8) (n = 1,625) | .66 | 1.28 (1.04-1.56) | .02 |
| Red blood cells (cells/HPF), mean (SD) | 10.2 (17.5) (n = 189) | 11.8 (25.1) (n = 846) | .30 | 1.00 (.99-1.01) | .91 |
| Squamous epithelial cells (cells/HPF), mean (SD) | .1 (0.4) (n = 36) | 1.3 (2.9) (n = 238) | < .001 | .33 (.12-.91) | .03 |
| pH (5-9), mean (SD) | 6.1 (.9) (n = 208) | 6.0 (.9) (n = 1,642) | .19 | 1.02 (.86-1.21) | .81 |
| Bilirubin (0, 1+, 2+, or 3+), mean (SD) | .1 (.5) (n = 208) | .05 (.3) (n = 1,637) | .09 | 1.46 (1.02-2.08) | .04 |
| Urobilinogen (0, 2, 4, 8, or 12 mg/dL), mean (SD) | 1.2 (1.9) (n = 208) | .8 (1.5) (n = 1,641) | .002 | 1.09 (1.00-1.18) | .06 |
| Protein (0, .5+, 1+, 2+, 3+), mean (SD) | .42 (.6) (n = 208) | .31 (.6) (n = 1,641) | .02 | 1.42 (1.13-1.79) | .003 |
| Glucose present (vs not) | 2.9% (6/208) | 4.8% (78/1,639) | .29 | .83 (.32-2.19) | .71 |
| Ketones (0, .5+, 1+, 2+, 3+), mean (SD) | .1 (.3) (n = 208) | .1 (.4) (n = 1,639) | .16 | .83 (.52-1.32) | .43 |