Official websites use. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Address correspondence to Timothy Isaac Miller, timiller uw. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4. Sexual transmission of enteric pathogens among men who have sex with men MSM is well documented, although whether providers are cognizant of this risk when MSM patients present with gastrointestinal symptoms has not been studied. Over 34 months at a major tertiary metropolitan medical system, this study retrospectively analyzed BioFire FilmArray Gastrointestinal results from patients documented as MSM.
An extensive chart review was performed, including specific sexual behaviors, socioeconomic risk factors, and whether providers charted a sexual history when a patient presented for care. Patients charted as sexually active had a significantly increased odds ratio OR of a positive result compared to those who were not.
Anilingus had the highest OR. Providers charted any type of sexual history in Sexual transmission of enteric pathogens within MSM is ongoing, and patients are at risk regardless of living with HIV. Not all sexual behaviors have the same associated risk, highlighting opportunities to decrease transmission. Increased provider vigilance and better patient education on sexual transmission of enteric pathogens are needed to reduce the disease burden.
Our work adds several key findings to the growing body of literature describing the epidemiology of enteric pathogens as sexually transmitted infections among men who have sex with men MSM. We analyzed clinical test results, housing status, provider awareness, sexual behaviors, and symptoms for patients.
We found that any sexual activity was associated with an increased risk of diarrheal pathogen detection, whereas being unhoused was not a risk factor. These findings suggest separate transmission networks between unhoused persons, who are also at risk of infectious diarrhea, and MSM. Moreover, our study suggested low awareness among patient-facing clinicians that diarrheal pathogens can be sexually transmitted. Together, our findings indicate an important opportunity to disrupt transmission cycles by educating clinicians on how to assess and counsel MSM patients.
