SynthesisBMJ (Clinical research ed.)2007
Improved effectiveness of partner notification for patients with sexually transmitted infections: systematic review.
Synthesis in BMJ (Clinical research ed.), 2007. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 67 papers, 8 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
67 citing papers in PubMed, 8 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 201 citations in OpenAlex.
- German evidence- and consensus-based guideline on the management of penile urethritis.Journal der Deutschen Dermatologischen Gesellschaft = Journal of the German Society of Dermatology : JDDG · 2025Guideline
- Assessing complex interventions: a systematic review of outcomes used in randomised controlled trials on STI partner notification in high-income countries.BMC public health · 2023Pooled it
- Sexually Transmitted Infections Treatment Guidelines, 2021.MMWR. Recommendations and reports : Morbidity and mortality weekly report. Recommendations and reports · 2021Guideline
- Advancing Partner Notification Through Electronic Communication Technology: A Review of Acceptability and Utilization Research.Journal of health communication · 2016Pooled it
- Sexually transmitted diseases treatment guidelines, 2015.MMWR. Recommendations and reports : Morbidity and mortality weekly report. Recommendations and reports · 2015Guideline
- Reporting quality of search methods in systematic reviews of HIV behavioral interventions (2000-2010): are the searches clearly explained, systematic and reproducible?Research synthesis methods · 2014Pooled it
- Strategies for partner notification for sexually transmitted infections, including HIV.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2013Pooled it
- Partner notification.BMJ clinical evidence · 2009Pooled it
- Mixed-methods Evaluation of an Expedited Partner Therapy Take-home Medication Program: Pilot Emergency Department Intervention to Improve Sexual Health Equity.The western journal of emergency medicine · 2023Trial
- Effect of patient-delivered household contact tracing and prevention for tuberculosis: A household cluster-randomised trial in Malawi.PloS one · 2022Trial
- Effects of enhanced STI partner notification counselling and provider-assisted partner services on partner referral and the incidence of STI diagnosis in Cape Town, South Africa: randomised controlled trial.Sexually transmitted infections · 2021Trial
- Perspectives on male partner notification and treatment for syphilis among antenatal women and their partners in Kampala and Wakiso districts, Uganda.BMC infectious diseases · 2019Trial
- Exploring motivation to notify and barriers to partner notification of sexually transmitted infections in South Africa: a qualitative study.BMC public health · 2018Trial
- Traditional and Web-Based Technologies to Improve Partner Notification Following Syphilis Diagnosis Among Men Who Have Sex With Men in Lima, Peru: Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of medical Internet research · 2018Trial
- Expedited Partner Therapy (EPT) increases the frequency of partner notification among MSM in Lima, Peru: a pilot randomized controlled trial.BMC medicine · 2017Trial
- Updates on Testing, Treatment, and Prevention of Sexually Transmitted Infections in the United States, 2025.Topics in antiviral medicine · 2025Review
- The Management of Gonorrhea in the Era of Emerging Antimicrobial Resistance: What Primary Care Clinicians Should Know.The Medical clinics of North America · 2024Review
- Promoting HPV Vaccination in People with HIV: Factors to Consider.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
- STI prevalence, incidence, and partner notification among women in a periconception HIV prevention program in Uganda.International journal of STD & AIDS · 2022Article
- Attitudes and Perceptions About Disclosing HIV and Syphilis Results Using Smarttest, a Smartphone App Dedicated to Self- and Partner Testing.AIDS education and prevention : official publication of the International Society for AIDS Education · 2021Article
7 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo examine the effectiveness of methods to improve partner notification by patient referral (index patient has responsibility for informing sex partners of their exposure to a sexually transmitted infection).
designSystematic review of randomised trials of any intervention to supplement simple patient referral. DATA SOURCES: Seven electronic databases searched (January 1990 to December 2005) without language restriction, and reference lists of retrieved articles. REVIEW
methodsSelection of trials, data extraction, and quality assessment were done by two independent reviewers. The primary outcome was a reduction of incidence or prevalence of sexually transmitted infections in index patients. If this was not reported data were extracted according to a hierarchy of secondary outcomes: number of partners treated; number of partners tested or testing positive; and number of partners notified, located, or elicited. Random effects meta-analysis was carried out when appropriate.
results14 trials were included with 12 389 women and men diagnosed as having gonorrhoea, chlamydia, non-gonococcal urethritis, trichomoniasis, or a sexually transmitted infection syndrome. All studies had methodological weaknesses that could have biased their results. Three strategies were used. Six trials examined patient delivered partner therapy. Meta-analysis of five of these showed a reduced risk of persistent or recurrent infection in patients with chlamydia or gonorrhoea (summary risk ratio 0.73, 95% confidence interval 0.57 to 0.93). Supplementing patient referral with information for partners was as effective as patient delivered partner therapy. Neither strategy was effective in women with trichomoniasis. Two trials found that providing index patients with chlamydia with sampling kits for their partners increased the number of partners who got treated.
conclusionsInvolving index patients in shared responsibility for the management of sexual partners improves outcomes. Health professionals should consider the following strategies for the management of individual patients: patient delivered partner therapy, home sampling for partners, and providing additional information for partners.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.