Infection
Mass. doctor on pill that can slow STIs
Mass. doctor on pill that can slow STIs
Updated: 5:17 PM EDT Aug 11, 2023
FIVE ON YOUR HEALTH. TODAY IT’S A PILL THAT COULD SLOW THE SPREAD OF SOME SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED DISEASES. AND HERE TO TALK ABOUT THAT AS DOCTOR TODD ELLERIN, CHIEF OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES AT SOUTH SHORE HEALTH. GOOD TO SEE YOU, DOCTOR. HEY, DR. T, I’M GOING TO NEED YOUR HELP NOW. THE PILL IS CALLED. SAY IT FOR ME, PLEASE. OH, DOXYCYCLINE. DOXYCYCLINE. SO OBVIOUSLY YOU NAILED PRONOUNCING IT. YOU’RE VERY FAMILIAR WITH IT. A LOT OF OUR VIEWERS ARE AS WELL. IT’S OFTEN PRESCRIBED TO TREAT BACTERIAL INFECTIONS. BUT BUT NOW WE’RE LEARNING THAT SOME DOCTORS AND EVEN SOME LOCAL HEALTH DEPARTMENTS ARE PRESCRIBING IT TO PREVENT CERTAIN SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED INFECTIONS. HAVE YOU SEEN ANY EVIDENCE THAT IT’S WORKING? YOU KNOW, EDDIE, I HAVE USED THIS BEFORE, EVEN THOUGH IT’S NOT CURRENTLY BEING RECOMMENDED ON A NATIONAL LEVEL. BUT OTHER PLACES ARE TOO, LIKE SAN FRANCISCO. HERE’S THE KEY. SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED INFECTIONS LIKE GONORRHEA, CHLAMYDIA AND SYPHILIS ARE ON THE RISE. SYPHILIS IS UP 78%. CONGENITAL SYPHILIS UP 200%, GONORRHEA UP 25%. WE NEED NEW TOOLS IN OUR TOOLBOX IN ORDER TO DECREASE THIS. AND IT LOOKS LIKE FROM A STUDY THAT WAS JUST PUBLISHED IN THE NEW ENGLAND JOURNAL OF MEDICINE IN THE SPRING, THAT SINGLE DOSE DOCS FOR CYCLING AFTER CONDOM SEX IN MEN WHO HAVE SEX WITH MEN AND TRANS GENDER WOMEN DECREASED THOSE THREE BACTERIAL STIS THAT I JUST MENTIONED BY 60%. THAT IS A BIG DEAL. WE NEED SOMETHING NEW AND THAT COULD BE IT. AS YOU KNOW, THE FDA HAS NOT APPROVED TO DOXYCYCLINE AS A WAY TO PREVENT SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED INFECTIONS. SO SOME DOCTORS HAVE DECIDED WE’RE GOING TO PRESCRIBE IT ANYWAY. WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THAT? THAT’S RIGHT, MARIA. AND I’M ONE OF THEM. I’VE USED THEM IN SOME PATIENTS. AGAIN. AND THE CDC RIGHT NOW IS BASICALLY WITHIN THE NEXT FEW WEEKS, WE EXPECT THEM TO HAVE DRAFT GUIDANCE WHERE EXPERTS CAN COMMENT AND CAN DISCUSS THE BENEFITS AND RISKS. REMEMBER, ANY TIME YOU’RE GIVING MORE ANTIBIOTIC X, YOU ALWAYS HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT RESISTANCE AS WELL. BUT IN THIS CASE, I DO THINK ULTIMATELY THE CDC IS GOING TO RECOMMEND THIS IN CERTAIN PATIENTS THAT ARE AT THE HIGHEST RISK. ONE OTHER THING I WANT TO MENTION ON HIV, FOR EXAMPLE, A VIRAL STI IS DECREASING. WE THINK ONE OF THE REASONS IT’S DECREASING IS BECAUSE WE HAVE PREP, WE HAVE MEDICATIONS THAT PATIENTS ARE TAKING WHO ARE NEGATIVE TO KEEP THEM NEGATIVE. THIS IS ONE OF THE HOPES FOR DOXYCYCLINE. DR. T YOU JUST SAID IT AND WE’LL REPEAT IT AGAIN. IT IS AN ANTIBIOTIC, RIGHT? SO IT ONLY WORKS WITH BACTERIAL INFECTIONS BECAUSE IT IS THAT ANTIBIOTIC, NOT VIRAL INFECTIONS SUCH AS IMPACTS HERPES OR I KNOW YOU JUST MENTIONED HIV AND SOME PROMISE, BUT IN YOUR OPINION, IS THERE A RISK OF PRESCRIBING ANTIBIOTICS TO PEOPLE WHO AREN’T EVEN INFECTED? OKAY. BOTTOM LINE ABOUT DOXYCYCLINE, IT’S CHEAP. WE KNOW IT HAS MINIMAL SIDE EFFECTS. THERE IS A LITTLE BIT OF RESISTANCE THAT WAS SEEN IN THESE STUDIES. BUT OVERALL, I THINK THE BENEFITS WILL OUTWEIGH THE RISKS IN THE FUTURE.
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Mass. doctor on pill that can slow STIs
Updated: 5:17 PM EDT Aug 11, 2023
Dr. Todd Ellerin, chief of infectious diseases at South Shore Health, discusses a pill that could slow the spread of some sexually-transmitted diseases.
Dr. Todd Ellerin, chief of infectious diseases at South Shore Health, discusses a pill that could slow the spread of some sexually-transmitted diseases.
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