GUM/Sexual Health Flashcards
How does pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) occur?
When infection spreads from vagina, through into cervix and then into upper genital tract
What is the most common cause of PID?
Chlamydia trachomatis
What is the second most common cause of PID?
Neisseria gonorrhoea
Which pathogens can cause PID?
1) Chlamydia
2) Gonorrhoea
3) Anaerobic bacteria
Sometimes no pathogen can be isolated
How is PID spread?
Sexually
How is PID diagnosed?
Clinical diagnosis
What are the symptoms of PID?
1) Severe bilateral abdominal pain (like a band across front of lower abdomen)
2) Discharge
3) Post-coital bleeding (inter-menstrual bleeding)
4) Dyspareunia
What are the signs of PID?
1) Adnexal tenderness
2) Cervical motion tenderness on bimanual examination - unable to tolerate bimanual or speculum
3) Fever
4) Abdominal tenderness
5) Recent STI
What condition does cervical motion tenderness on bimanual examination indicate?
PID
What is Fitz Hugh Curtis syndrome?
When adhesions form between the anterior liver capsule to the anterior abdominal wall or diaphragm, on a background of PID (10% of PID patients present like this)
How does Fitz Hugh Curtis syndrome present?
RUQ pain (secondary to inflammation of liver capsule) on background of PID symptoms
How are liver function tests in Fitz Hugh Curtis syndrome?
Normal
What investigations are done in PID?
1) Pelvic examination
2) Pregnancy test
3) Swabs for gonorrhoea and chlamydia
4) Bloods
5) Transvaginal ultrasound
Which combination of antibiotics are given for PID?
1) IM ceftriaxone
2) Doxycycline
3) Metronidazole
OR ofloxacin + metronidazole
How is PID managed?
1) Outpatient antibiotic treatment
2) Analgesia
3) Review patient in 4 weeks
Which patients are given empirical treatment for PID and why?
All young sexually active women with bilateral lower abdominal pain with adnexal tenderness - due to significant number of women not diagnosed
What are three complications of PID?
1) Chronic pelvic pain (40%)
2) Infertility (15%)
3) Ectopic pregnancy (1%)
How is Fitz Hugh Curtis syndrome investigated?
1) Abdominal ultrasound - to exclude stones
2) Laparoscopy - for definitive diagnosis
How is Fitz Hugh Curtis syndrome treated?
Antibiotics
Which blood marker can be high in PID?
Ca-125
What increases your risk of developing PID?
STIs in the past
What are the two possible causes of genital herpes?
1) HSV- 1 - most common
2) HSV-2 - more likely to cause recurrent anogenital symptoms
What is the most common cause of oral herpes?
HSV-1 (HSV2 rarely affects the mouth and lips)
What is the most common cause of genital herpes?
HSV-1
How do you differentiate between HSV-1 and HSV-2 herpes infection?
They are clinically indistinguishable
How does genital herpes present?
Asymptomatic OR
1) Multiple painful genital ulcers/lesions on vulva
2) Dysuria ± urinary retention
3) Vaginal/urethral discharge
4) Lesions typically crust and heal - at this point the virus ceases to be shed from the lesions
5) May have fever, malaise, headache
6) Palpable inguinal lymphadenopathy
What are the features of recurrent episodes of genital herpes?
1) Recurrent episodes are usually less severe than a primary episode
2) There may not be a clearly identifiable trigger
3) The recurrent episode may have a prodromal phase e.g. tingling
How is genital herpes diagnosed?
1) Clinical - history & examination
2) NAAT
What is the most effective method of diagnosing genital herpes?
Obtain a swab from the base of the ulcer + analyse using nucleic acid amplification tests (NAAT)
How is HSV transmitted?
1) Skin-to-skin
2) The virus can be shed in the prodromal phase + during phases of recurrence or when displaying clinical symptoms for the first time
3) The virus can also be shed when the patient is asymptomatic
What is the current guidance with abstinence in genital herpes?
The current guidance advises patients to abstain from sex during clinical recurrence or when they are experiencing prodromal symptoms
What is the primary treatment for genital herpes simplex infection?
Oral antivirals
When should genital herpes be treated?
1) Treatment should commence within 5 days of the start of the episode OR
2) While new lesions are forming for people with a first clinical episode of genital herpes
What is first line treatment for genital herpes?
Aciclovir 400mg TDS for 5 days ± topical lidocaine 2% gel for symptomatic analgesic relief
What common treatment regimes used for genital herpes?
1) Aciclovir 400mg TDS for 5 days
2) Aciclovir 200mg five times daily for 5 days
3) Valaciclovir 500mg BD for 5 days
4) Famciclovir 250mg TDS for 5 days
How do you manage a first time episode of HSV (genital herpes) in pregnancy?
1) Refer to GUM clinic
2) Do not delay treatment - 400mg aciclovir TDS for 5 days
3) Acquisition of primary genital herpes simplex in the first or second trimester does not preclude vaginal delivery, however suppressive therapy with oral Aciclovir may be given from week 36 to reduce the risk of HSV lesions at term
How do you manage recurrent HSV (genital herpes) in pregnancy?
1) Women with recurrent genital herpes should be informed that the risk of neonatal herpes is low, even if lesions are present at the time of delivery (0–3% for vaginal delivery) - if a woman has HSV lesions at term, delivery via caesarean section is recommended to reduce the risk of vertical transmission to the newborn
2) Although there is no evidence that aciclovir is unsafe in early pregnancy, the majority of recurrent episodes of genital herpes are short-lasting and resolve within 7–10 days without antiviral treatment
3) Supportive treatment measures using saline bathing and analgesia with standard doses of paracetamol alone will usually suffice
Which virus is associated with the development of cervical cancer in women and vulval, anal and throat cancers?
HPV16 or HPV18
Which virus is associated with the development of Kaposi’s sarcoma in patients with HIV?
Human herpesvirus 8 (HHV8)
What are two normal variant/self-limiting skin conditions affecting the glans and prepuce of the penis?
1) Pearly penile papules (multiple uniform smooth flesh coloured lesions around the coronal margin of the glans) - reassure that they are not sexually transmitted + discharge
2) Angiokeratomas
Which inflammatory skin conditions can affect the penis?
1) Eczema
2) Psoriasis
3) Lichen planus
4) Lichen sclerosus
5) Zoon’s balanitis