Assessment of the Value of Rescreening for Syphilis in the Third Trimester of Pregnancy

• Main Authors: Rodney K. Edwards (Author), Margaret Bennett (Author), Carrie Langstraat (Author), Daina Greene (Author)
• Format: Book
• Published: Hindawi Limited, 2006-01-01T00:00:00Z.
• Subjects: article
• Online Access: Connect to this object online.
• Notes: 1064-7449; 1098-0997; 10.1155/IDOG/2006/56504
• Keywords: Gynecology and obstetrics; RG1-991; Infectious and parasitic diseases; RC109-216
• Source: Infectious Diseases in Obstetrics and Gynecology, Vol 2006 (2006)

Objectives. Our aim is evaluating the need for repeating tests for syphilis on pregnant women in the third trimester. Study design. A single-center retrospective cohort study was performed on all women delivering 7/03-6/04. Results. During the study interval, 2244 women delivered at our hospital. Of those women having available records and attending at least one prenatal visit, 1940 (98.9%) were screened for syphilis at the first prenatal visit. Of the 1627 women beginning prenatal care prior to 27 weeks and delivering after 32 weeks, 1377 (84.6%) were rescreened in the third trimester. No cases of syphilis were identified with either the initial (upper limit of 95% CI 0.24%) or repeat (upper limit of 95% CI 0.34%) screening. Conclusions. In our obstetric population, syphilis is so uncommon that mandated prenatal screening on more than one occasion seems unjustified and laws requiring repeated screening should be reevaluated.