Introduction: Syphilis rates among jail populations have remained higher than in general populations. In Harris County Texas, all inmates incarcerated longer than 14 days are offered syphilis screening. Differences in characteristics of those screened and unscreened have not been described. Nor is there data on the proportion of the eligible population that gets screened. In this study, we compare characteristics of screened and unscreened inmates, describe the proportion of eligible inmates that are screened, and report the prevalence of reactive Rapid Plasma Reagin (RPR) tests among those screened. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study of 2083 inmates randomly selected from 28,800 persons booked between July and September 1999. Socio-demographic and offense data were collected from booking records; syphilis screening data was collected from Houston Department of Health and Human Services records. Results: Of all inmates included in this study, 29% were screened. Those more likely to be screened were males, Blacks, sex-related offenders, and inmates living in zip codes areas with low median household income. Among those inmates who were incarcerated for at least 14 days, 79% were screened. Among all screened, 45/609 had reactive RPR tests, for a prevalence of 74 per 1,000. However, only 15% (7/45) with reactive titers were classified as new syphilis cases by the city health workers; none had primary syphilis and one had early disease. Notably, we found that 21% of eligible inmates were not screened for syphilis either because they inadvertently failed to be screened or because of screening scheduling procedures.
Learning Objectives: N/A
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.