Screening for Syphilis During Pregnancy in Turkey

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To assess the prevalence of syphilis among patients at a tertiary referral center in Turkeyand determine the need for antenatal syphilis screening based on the results.STUDY DESIGN: A retrospective cohort study based on patient data obtained from a tertiary referralcenter in Turkey. Serological syphilis screening using the Venereal Disease Research Laboratory(VDRL) was performed on all pregnant women as a part of routine antenatal care at their first hospitalvisit during pregnancy. Treponema pallidum hemagglutination assay (TPHA) was used to confirm positive screening results for syphilis.RESULTS: Patients' mean age was 27.4 years. The incidence of positive syphilis serology was 0.013%(one patient), which was supported by a positive confirmatory test (0.013%). The TPHA-positive pregnant woman diagnosed with syphilis was treated with benzathine penicillin, and she gave birth to normal infants without any signs of congenital syphilis.CONCLUSION: Syphilis prevalence should be determined in each developing country with populationbased studies. According to the prevalence of syphilis, each country should determine its own syphilisantenatal screening policies