Syphilis Notifications and the Triggering Processes for Vertical Transmission: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Syphilis is a disease that is found all over the world that causes damaging effects to the fetus through vertical transmission. This study aimed to analyze the processes that trigger the vertical transmission of syphilis through gestational and congenital syphilis notifications. It is a cross-sectional study. The sample totaled 129 notifications of syphilis in pregnant women and 132 notifications of congenital syphilis in the city of Natal, from 2011 to 2015. Data were obtained from the Information System for Disease Notification. The Chi-square, Student’s and Fisher’s tests were used to verify associations of interest. Diagnosis of maternal syphilis was predominant in the third trimester of pregnancy. Only 1.6% of the pregnant women were registered with an adequate treatment regimen, of these 16.3% had the concomitant treatment with their partners. Of the affected children, 78.8% were registered as asymptomatic. The factors that trigger vertical transmission are related to the late diagnosis of the pregnant woman and sexual partner(s) and the deficiencies in clinical/therapeutic management in relation to the phase of the disease. Strategies of professional training should be adopted to notify and expand the provision of information for epidemiological surveillance, aiming to strengthen care, reduce vertical transmission and enable the continuous analysis of this problem.

New screening approach to detecting congenital syphilis in China: a retrospective cohort study

“…High titres of non-treponemal antibodies (≥1:8) represent significant fetal exposure to Treponema pallidum . 11 The persistence of low titres (<1:8), indicating the presence of serological scarring, 34 reduces the risk of vertical transmission.…”

“…37 The likelihood of fetal infection is influenced by maternal non-treponemal titres and the duration of fetal exposure. 34 …”

“…37 The likelihood of fetal infection is influenced by maternal nontreponemal titres and the duration of fetal exposure. 34 For syphilis, validation of WHO criteria was difficult due to a lack of reliable data about CS. 38 Our study suggests that the combination of timing of antisyphilis treatment and nontreponemal titres has high predictive ability (reflected as a high NPV) and could be used as a useful clinical tool to exclude CS.…”

Hospitalizations due to Congenital Syphilis in Neonates: Associated Factors from the Prenatal Care Process

“…In this context, the number of research studies related to the topic also rose. The occurrence of congenital syphilis has already been associated, among other factors, with the younger age group and the woman's low schooling (5), as well as with late diagnosis of the pregnant woman and her partner (6). However, the search for factors related to congenital syphilis from the prenatal care process, with indirect assessment of the quality of care provided to pregnant women, is still incipient.…”

Aglomerados de alto risco e tendência temporal da sífilis congênita no Brasil

“…A SC apresenta diversas manifestações clínicas, podendo afetar múltiplos sistemas do feto. Embora a SC não tratada possa causar abortamento neonatal, morte precoce ou natimorto em até 40% dos casos ( 4 ), a maioria dos casos é assintomática ao nascer ( 5 , 6 ). Nesse sentido, ao ser diagnosticada, a SC é classificada como precoce ou tardia: a primeira envolve, por exemplo, prematuridade, lesões cutâneo-mucosas, hidropsia, hepatoesplenomegalia, anemia e osteocondrite; por sua vez, a SC tardia inclui cicatrizes e formação de goma na pele, déficit intelectual, alteração dos sentidos e dentes de Hutchinson ( 6 ).…”