Abstract
Syphilis is a sexually transmitted bacterial disease relevant to pregnancy because
it has the potential to cause congenital syphilis if it occurs at any time during
pregnancy. An upsurge in cases of syphilis in women and hence congenital syphilis
has been reported worldwide recently. 40% of cases can result in spontaneous miscarriages,
stillbirth, non-immune hydrops, fetal growth restriction and perinatal death, as well
as serious sequelae in liveborn infected children. Pregnancy complications can be
avoided by early detection and treatment in the antenatal period. All antenatal women
should be screened for syphilis at the first antenatal visit. There is no gold standard
for diagnostic test of syphilis. A combination of serological tests consisting of
treponemal and a non treponemal test are used for diagnosis. Screening with non-treponemal
tests such as rapid plasma reagin or venereal disease research laboratory test combined
with confirmation of reactive individuals with treponemal tests such as the fluorescent
treponemal antibody absorption assay is the usual cost effective approach. Those at
risk should be retested in the third trimester. Treatment during pregnancy should
be with penicillin depending upon the stage of the maternal infection. All neonates
born to mothers who have reactive nontreponemal and treponemal test results should
be evaluated.
Keywords
Congenital syphilis - Routine screening - Treponemal test - Non treponemal test -
Penicillin treatment
