The New Indian Journal of OBGYN. 11(2):330-334

Seroprevalence of Syphilis among pregnant women attending an antenatal clinic at a tertiary care hospital in South Karnataka

Trupti B Naik, Sathish JV, Vijaykumar Mane, Sujith Pavan

ABSTRACT

Background: Syphilis is a chronic systemic illness caused by the spirochaete Treponema pallidum. It is usually transmitted sexually, but it can also be transmitted in utero, and can also be transferred through blood transfusions or non-sexual contact. Untreated or improperly treated mothers are at significant risk of congenital syphilis, which accounts for 40% of such pregnancies ending in fetal death or perinatal mortality. Objective: To estimate the syphilis seroprevalence among pregnant women attending antenatal clinics in the present study. Methods: An one year retrospective study was conducted in the Department of Microbiology, Chamarajanagar Institute of Medical Sciences, Chamarajanagar, using secondary data from microbiology laboratory registers for screening of syphilis in registered antenatal cases from January 2017 to December 2017. The prevalence was calculated by analyzing data from the rapid plasma reagin (RPR) card test results. The Microsoft excel 2010 was used for statistical analysis. Results: Out of 2248 serum samples, 23 (1.02%) were found positive. The rate of seropositivity was highest in > 45 years (2.30%), in III trimesters (14.44%), and multigravida women 7 (1.21%). Conclusion: An early antenatal diagnosis of Syphilis is needed to facilitate appropriate patient management and the initiation of treatment to avoid the transmission of congenital infections and further to prevent anomalies to newborns.