Curable sexually transmitted infections among the clientele of a family planning clinic in Istanbul Turkey.

Integrating screening and treatment of sexually transmitted infections into existing family planning programs can be a good way to fight this problem. Also the number of studies on the prevalence of certain sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in this population in Turkey is limited. The aim was to find out the prevalence of the most common STIs among the clients of an urban family planning clinic and to evaluate demographic characteristics and clinical signs related to STIs. Samples for Chlamydia trachomatis Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Trichomonas vaginalis were collected from 569 women who attended the clinic from December 15 1997 to March 31 1998. No case of N. gonorrhoeae was found among the samples. The prevalence of C. trachomatis infection was 1.9% whereas the prevalence of T. vaginalis was 2.6%. None of the demographic characteristics or clinical signs was related to these infections. Larger studies using more sensitive laboratory tests are needed to determine the prevalence of chlamydial infections in family planning clinics in Turkey. (authors)