Screening for sexually transmitted diseases during preparticipation sports examination of high school adolescents

In an urban school district, 636 students in grades 9-12 were tested for Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae by ligase chain reaction assays using specimens collected for routine urinalyses during sports physical examinations. Chlamydia and gonorrhea prevalences were 2.8% and 0.7% among males, and 6.5% and 2.0% among females, respectively. Among athletes infected with either sexually transmitted disease (STD), 93.1% reported no symptoms, and treatment was documented for 75.9%. Sports physicals offered a unique opportunity to screen and treat adolescents for STDs and to provide STD-prevention counseling. (C) Society for Adolescent Medicine, 2003.