Multidisciplinary Approach to Improve Human Immunodeficiency Virus and Syphilis Testing Rates in Emergency Departments

Background: Best practice guidelines recommend that patients at risk for sexually transmitted infections (STIs), such as gonorrhea (GC) and chlamydia, should also be tested for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and syphilis. This prospective quality assurance study aimed to increase HIV and syphilis testing rates in emergency departments (EDs) across the Cleveland Clinic Health System from January 1, 2020 through January 1, 2022.

Methods: A multidisciplinary team of emergency medicine, infectious diseases, pharmacy, and microbiology personnel convened to identify barriers to HIV and syphilis testing during ED encounters at which GC/chlamydia were tested. The following interventions were implemented in response: rapid HIV testing with new a workflow for results follow-up, a standardized STI-screening order panel, and feedback to clinicians about ordering patterns.

Results: There were 57 797 ED visits with GC/chlamydia testing completed during the study period. Human immunodeficiency virus testing was ordered at 5% of these encounters before the interventions were implemented and increased to 8%, 23%, and 36% after each successive intervention. Syphilis testing increased from 9% before the interventions to 12%, 28%, and 39% after each successive intervention. In multivariable analyses adjusted for age, gender, and location, the odds ratio for HIV and syphilis testing after all interventions was 11.72 (95% confidence interval [CI], 10.82-12.71; P ≤.001) and 6.79 (95% CI, 6.34-7.27; P ≤.001), respectively.

Conclusions: The multidisciplinary intervention resulted in improved testing rates for HIV and syphilis.