Feb. 12, 2025
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends providers follow its 2024 clinical guidelines on doxycycline post-exposure prophylaxis to reduce the risk of syphilis and other bacterial sexually transmitted infections for individuals with an increased risk for STIs with a history of at least one bacterial STI (syphilis, chlamydia or gonorrhea) in the last 12 months.
CDC guidelines: The CDC recommends providers discuss doxy PEP with patients and offer a prescription for self-administration of 200 mg of doxy PEP within 72 hours after oral, vaginal or anal sex. According to the CDC, doxy PEP has been shown to reduce syphilis and chlamydia infections by more than 70% and gonococcal infections by approximately 50%.
Illinois Department of Public Health guidelines: Syphilis cases, including congenital syphilis, rose by 211% from 2018 to 2022, according to the IDPH. IDPH recommends the following:
- Recommend doxy PEP to MSM or TGW who have had ≥1 bacterial STI’s in the past 12 months. Doxy PEP can be used by people taking HIV PrEP.
- Offer doxy PEP using shared decision-making to all non-pregnant individuals at increased risk for bacterial STIs and to those requesting doxy PEP, even if these individuals have not been previously diagnosed with an STI or have not disclosed their risk status.
- Provide comprehensive preventative sexual health counseling and education to all sexually active individuals to include HIV/STI screening, doxy PEP, HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis/HIV postexposure prophylaxis, vaccinations (e.g., Hepatitis A/B, Human Papilloma Virus, MPox, Meningococcal) Expedited Partner Therapy, and contraception where warranted.
The above material is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for the independent medical judgment of a physician or other health care provider. Physicians and other health care providers are encouraged to use their own medical judgment based upon all available information and the condition of the patient in determining the appropriate course of treatment. The fact that a service or treatment is described in this material, is not a guarantee that the service or treatment is a covered benefit and members should refer to their member guide or member contract for more details, including benefits, limitations and exclusions. Regardless of benefits, the final decision about any service or treatment is between the member and their health care provider.
This information is courtesy of the CDC and IDPH.