Definition: Syndromatic treatment refers to the practice of treating people for sexually transmitted diseases based on their symptoms. It is usually done in low-resource settings where the cost of testing is prohibitive or where it is difficult to get people to come back for test results. Unfortunately, there are two main problems with syndromatic testing.
- Many sexually transmitted diseases are asymptomatic. Many people with chlamydia, gonorrhea, herpes, and other STDs won't have symptoms for years, if they ever have them at all.
- The symptoms of sexually transmitted diseases can be aggravatingly unspecific. A liquid discharge, in particular, can be caused by so many different types of pathogens that it can be difficult to sensibly treat.
Because of the wide availability of STD testing in the U.S., syndromatic treatment is less common in this country.
