Chlamydia-Partner Management — Medical Practice MCQ

Correct answer: B — Advise abstinence for 7 days after single-dose therapy and treat partners from past 60 days

Correct answer: B. Chlamydia cervicitis requires partner notification and partner treatment because partners are often asymptomatic and untreated partners are a major cause of reinfection and onward transmission. The patient should avoid vaginal, oral and anal sex until she and her partner(s) have completed treatment; after single-dose azithromycin this means abstaining for 7 days after treatment. Partners in the exam-defined look-back period of the previous 60 days should be treated, not only tested if symptomatic. Partner notification is performed confidentially rather than avoided for privacy. A test of cure at 48 hours is inappropriate; routine test of cure is not recommended for uncomplicated genital chlamydia, and NAAT testing soon after treatment may remain positive from non-viable organisms. In current UK practice, doxycycline 100 mg twice daily for 7 days is first-line for uncomplicated chlamydia, but the partner-management principle tested here is abstinence until effective treatment and partner treatment/notification.

Reference: British Association for Sexual Health and HIV (BASHH). 2015 UK national guideline for the management of infection with Chlamydia trachomatis, with 2018 treatment update. https://www.bashh.org/resources/15/guidelines_chlamydia_2015