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Urethritis - male - Management
How should sexual partners be notified?
A sexually transmitted infection (STI) is generally considered to be the underlying cause of urethritis in most, (but not all), men. Ideally, urethritis should be managed in a service specializing in sexual health, or a general practice providing an enhanced sexual health service.
- There are three methods of partner notification:
- Patient referral — the man is encouraged to notify his past and present partners (this is the usual method in primary care).
- Provider referral — the healthcare professional notifies the man's partners on his behalf (provider referral should be facilitated by a trained health adviser).
- Contract referral — the man is encouraged to notify his partners, with the understanding that a healthcare professional will later notify those partners who do not visit the health service within an allotted time.
- For each method, all actions and outcomes should be documented by the healthcare professional.
- For specific advice on partner notification for chlamydia and gonococcal infection, see the CKS topics on Chlamydia - uncomplicated genital and Gonorrhoea.
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