Description of Methods Used to Formulate the Recommendations
2010 Guideline
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) staff members and invited consultants (including public- and private-sector professionals knowledgeable in the treatment of patients with sexually transmitted diseases [STDs]) assembled in Atlanta, Georgia, in April 2009, for a meeting where all evidence from the literature reviews pertaining to STD management was discussed.
Specifically, participants identified key questions regarding STD treatment that emerged from the literature reviews and discussed the information available to answer those questions. Discussion focused on four principal outcomes of STD therapy for each individual disease: 1) treatment of infection based on microbiologic eradication, 2) alleviation of signs and symptoms 3) prevention of sequelae, and 4) prevention of transmission. Cost-effectiveness and other advantages (e.g., single-dose formulations and directly observed therapy [DOT]) of specific regimens also were discussed. The consultants then assessed whether the questions identified were relevant, ranked them in order of priority, and answered the questions using the available evidence. In addition, the consultants evaluated the quality of evidence supporting the answers on the basis of the number, type, and quality of the studies.
2012 Addendum
During September–December 2011, CDC and five external Gonococcal Isolate Surveillance Project (GISP) principal investigators, each with Neisseria gonorrhoeae–specific expertise in surveillance, antimicrobial resistance, treatment, and antimicrobial susceptibility testing, reviewed antimicrobial susceptibility trends in GISP through August 2011 to determine whether to update CDC's current recommendations for treatment of uncomplicated gonorrhea.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) staff members and invited consultants (including public- and private-sector professionals knowledgeable in the treatment of patients with sexually transmitted diseases [STDs]) assembled in Atlanta, Georgia, in April 2009, for a meeting where all evidence from the literature reviews pertaining to STD management was discussed.
Specifically, participants identified key questions regarding STD treatment that emerged from the literature reviews and discussed the information available to answer those questions. Discussion focused on four principal outcomes of STD therapy for each individual disease: 1) treatment of infection based on microbiologic eradication, 2) alleviation of signs and symptoms 3) prevention of sequelae, and 4) prevention of transmission. Cost-effectiveness and other advantages (e.g., single-dose formulations and directly observed therapy [DOT]) of specific regimens also were discussed. The consultants then assessed whether the questions identified were relevant, ranked them in order of priority, and answered the questions using the available evidence. In addition, the consultants evaluated the quality of evidence supporting the answers on the basis of the number, type, and quality of the studies.
2012 Addendum
During September–December 2011, CDC and five external Gonococcal Isolate Surveillance Project (GISP) principal investigators, each with Neisseria gonorrhoeae–specific expertise in surveillance, antimicrobial resistance, treatment, and antimicrobial susceptibility testing, reviewed antimicrobial susceptibility trends in GISP through August 2011 to determine whether to update CDC's current recommendations for treatment of uncomplicated gonorrhea.
