Doxycycline Kits Boost Chlamydia Treatment in ED

TOPLINE:

Doxycycline discharge kits significantly improve guideline-directed treatment and reduce time to definitive treatment in patients with chlamydia who were discharged from the emergency department (ED).

METHODOLOGY:

• A single-center retrospective chart review included adults with positive chlamydia tests in the ED between 2021 and 2023.
• In total, 98 received doxycycline discharge kits; 72 patients were enrolled before the implementation of discharge kits for comparison.
• There were no differences in symptoms of infection between patients who received and those who did not receive the kit.
• Main outcome was the number of patients who received treatment.
• Secondary outcomes included 90-day return visits for complaints of sexually transmitted infections and time to treatment initiation.

TAKEAWAY:

• Appropriate treatment rates rose significantly post-implementation of the discharge kit (69.1% vs 45.8%; odds ratio, 2.63; P = .002).
• Implementation of the discharge kit also reduced the time to definitive treatment from 22.7 hours to 1.3 hours (P
• No significant differences in 90-day ED return visits, time to initial treatment in the ED, and doxycycline prescription via culture callback programs between the two groups.

IN PRACTICE:

“Pharmacy-driven doxycycline discharge kits significantly increased guideline-directed treatment and decreased time to treatment for chlamydia infections in the ED population at an urban academic medical center,” the authors wrote. “Overall, this initiative overcame barriers to treatment for a significant public health issue, supporting the need for expansion to other emergency departments across the country.”

SOURCE:

The study was led by Carly Loudermilk, Department of Pharmacy, Louisville, Kentucky, and was published online on November 14, 2024, in The American Journal of Emergency Medicine.

LIMITATIONS:

Retrospective design is the main limitation and lack of insurance fill history in some patients.

DISCLOSURES:

The study received no external funding. The authors disclosed no conflicts of interest.

This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.