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Content Update: December 2020 CDC Treatment Changes January 2021
As of December 18, 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has changed treatment recommendations for gonorrhea and chlamydia due to increasing antimicrobial resistance. See Chapter 173, table 153-2; table 293-4 in this chapter for simplified treatment, or go to MMWR Dec 18, 2020, 69: 50, 1911-1916 for full information.
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INTRODUCTION AND EPIDEMIOLOGY
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Sexual assault is a crime of violence, intended to dominate and humiliate the victim through the use of intimidation and fear.1 In many parts of the world, sexual assault is a tool for oppression, a weapon of war, and an act of genocide. Psychological trauma is a universal consequence of rape and sexual assault, but the absence of physical injury does not indicate that an assault did not take place. Sexual assault remains a major public health problem throughout the world, with case rates of police-recorded incidents as high as 92.9 per 100,000 in Botswana to a first-time record of 0.0 in Liechtenstein in 2010.2 In the United States, the incidence of rape decreased from 1.6 cases per 1000 people in 2015 to 1.1 cases per 1000 in 20163; however, nearly one in five American women (18.3%) report being raped at some time during their lives.4
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Although males are less commonly victimized, studies estimate that between 0.6% and 22.2% of males have experienced sexual assaults.5–7 According to the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System, sexual assaults accounted for >150,000 ED visits in 2001 in the United States.8 However, many sexual assault survivors do not report the assault to police or seek medical care.9 The Department of Justice estimates that only 34.8% of sexual assaults are ever reported.10 Women are likely to seek treatment earlier for more severe assaults and injuries, and they are more likely to delay seeking assistance if assaulted by a known perpetrator.9
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In most cases of rape in the United States, a single assailant is involved, and most often, the perpetrator is known to the victim.11 Twenty-six percent of assailants are current or former partners, 38% are friends or acquaintances, and only 26% are strangers.10 Force or coercion is used in most assaults, but a weapon is reported in only 11% of cases.4
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About half of female12 and male13 assault survivors have genital or rectal trauma on examination, and about two thirds have some evidence of bruising elsewhere.12 Injuries are more often found in female patients <20 years old or >49 years old, those who have experienced anal assault, and those who present within 24 hours of assault. Survivors age 12 to 17 years are more likely to have anogenital injuries than those age 18 to 49 years.14
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HEALTHCARE RESPONSIBILITIES
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