TITLE:
Infectious Disease Update in Obstetrics: A Modern Approach to the Patient with a Positive Screening Test for Syphyilis in Pregnancy
AUTHORS:
Papa Essilfie
KEYWORDS:
Treponema Pallidum, Chancre, Condyloma Lata, Gummas, VDRL Test, RPR Test, Revere-Sequence Testing, Jarisch-Herxheimer Reaction
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology,
Vol.14 No.1,
January
24,
2024
ABSTRACT: Screening for maternal syphilis has been an
essential component of routine antenatal screening tests in most countries for
many years. This is not only because of the
virulence of the spirochete which causes the infection but also because of its
vertical transmission rate and the potential severe adverse
complications/morbidity that can result from its transmission to the fetus.
Although the incidence of maternal syphilis and its fetal sequalae in low-income
countries has been considerable for several years, the disease has been almost
non-existent in high income countries with wide antenatal screening coverage
and effective treatment programmes for Syphilis. The recent alarming increase
in the incidence of maternal syphilis in high income countries has spawned a
renewed public health interest in the infection, with several countries
updating and strengthening public health guidance in an attempt to stem this
dramatic trend. This is a short clinical update for the practising obstetrician
on how to manage the antenatal patient with a positive syphilis screening test.