Reactive treponemal and non-treponemal tests in pregnant women and associated factors.
Amanda Ribeiro de Paula Reis, Geraldo Duarte, Mayra Gonçalves Menegueti and 3 others
PMID 36427270WHAT IT FOUND
At one Brazilian maternity hospital, 72 of 2,626 women arriving to give birth had reactive syphilis tests (2.74%).
Unmarried status was the only factor linked to these reactive tests once other factors were considered; age, pregnancies, births, miscarriages and prenatal consultations were not.
Key findings
01Of 2,626 analysed women, 72 had reactive treponemal and non-treponemal tests, a seroreactivity rate of 2.74%.
02Unmarried status was the only factor associated with arriving at the maternity hospital with reactive treponemal and non-treponemal tests in the adjusted model.
03Of the 42 newborns with reactive results, 17 were treated with penicillin, and 4 more were treated despite negative tests.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study was done at one public maternity hospital, so the results may not apply to other settings. The researchers could not calculate a true population prevalence because the total number of pregnant women in the communities was unknown. Data came from medical records collected after the births, and some relevant information, such as number of partners, was not available. 49 women with reactive treponemal test but non-reactive non-treponemal test were excluded, so the analysed group represents only those with both tests reactive. Many unadjusted differences did not remain in the adjusted model, and the final model included only a limited set of variables. The paper did not report complete maternal treatment or partner treatment data for the analysed cases.
The easy way to misread this
Do not use unmarried status to decide who receives syphilis screening. The study found an association in one hospital's records, not proof of cause, and it did not record number of partners.