Syndromic management refers to the approach of treating STI/RTI symptoms and signs based on the organisms most commonly responsible for each syndrome. A more definite or etiological diagnosis may be possible in some settings with sophisticated laboratory facilities, but this is often problematic. Laboratory tests require resources, add to the cost of treatment, may require clients to make extra visits to the clinic and almost always result in delays in treatment. For these reasons, syndromic management guidelines are widely used for syndromes such as lower abdominal pain, urethral discharge and genital ulcer even in developed countries with advanced laboratory facilities.

WHO has developed simple flowcharts (also called algorithms) to guide health care providers in using the syndromic approach to manage seven