Syndromic diagnosis, sexual behavior, and management in rural population among all cases attending sexually transmitted infection clinic in a tertiary care center from the east-central zone of India: A retrospective study.

Abstract

Background: Rural population constitutes a significant population of our country. According to the regions, the sexual behavior and pattern of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) changes because of variation in health facilities, education, and sociocultural belief.

Objective: To study the sociodemographic profile, sexual behavior, and pattern of STIs based on the syndromic approach in the rural population attending STIs clinic from the east-central zone of India.

Materials and methods: Between January 2020 and July 2022, a retrospective study was carried out in a STIs clinic at a tertiary care facility in India's east-central region. Data included demographics, clinical profiles (syndromic approach), and sexual behavior from all the rural population suffering from STIs. The data were corroborated using the proper statistical tools.

Results: Seven hundred and twenty-two (63.6%) of the 1135 STI cases were from the rural population. The gender ratio was 17:1, with 333 (46.1%) patients between the ages of 20 and 30 years. Four hundred and ninety-four (68.4%) of the rural population had education qualifications below the 10^th class. The predominant occupation was a homemaker (582; 80.6%). Drug abuse was noted in 13 (1.8%) cases. Lower abdominal pain was the most clinical manifestation seen in 441 (61%) cases, followed by vaginal discharge in 89 (12.3%) cases. The majority of the patients presented with the first episode of symptoms and had a single regular partner with no symptoms in a partner. In 22.9% of cases, the partner had a history of frequent travel. In 94.1% of cases, protective measures were not used.

Conclusions: Young married adults, female partners, lower education, and low-income classes were among those who had STIs, with frequent unprotected sexual activity. Lower abdominal pain is the most common symptom in this area.