CLINICAL PROFILE AND SEXUAL BEHAVIORS IN PATIENTS OF SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED DISEASES IN A TEACHING HOSPITAL OF EASTERN NEPAL

A hospital based prospective cross sectional study was under taken over one-year period from April 1998 to March 1999 to study the clinical profile and sexual behavior in sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) patients at Dermatology and Venereology OPD at BPKIHS, Dharan, Nepal. A total of 105 patients giving history suggestive of STDs were studied. These patients were also enquired for their sexual behaviors. There were 85 males and 20 females; and the majority (55.2%) was in the age group of 21-30 years. Most of the patients (25.7%) were students followed by housewives (17.2%). service holders (13.3%), businessmen (13.3%), unemployed (9.5%) and fanners (8.5%).. Literates were 80%. Sixty-eight percent males and 90% females were married. Majority of the males contracted infection from CSW (58.8%). Females got the infection from husbands and friends. More than 50% of male had multiple partners whereas in case of females it was only 5%. Homosexual and bisexual were 3.5% and 4.7% respectively in males. Unprotected sexual contact was found in 94.1% of males and 100% of females. Syphilis (30.5%) was the commonest type of STD followed by gonorrhea (14.3%), genital warts (14.3%), chancroid (6.7%), candidiasis (6.7%), herpes genitalis (5.7%), mixed infection (4.7%), donovanosis (2.8%), and Lymphogranuloma venereum (0.9%). In homosexual and bisexual, only NGU and syphilis were seen. STDs constituted 0.97% of all new dermatology patients. In spite of high proportion of promiscuous sexual behavior, there was only one HIV positive patient. Key Words: Clinical profile, Sexual behavior, STD patients, Nepal