Frequency of reactive treponemal rapid test for syphilis in pregnant and postpartum women cared for at the District Hospital of San Juan Nepomuceno, Paraguay, between 2022 and 2024
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22149862Keywords:
syphilis, infectious complications of pregnancy, mass screening, serologic tests, prenatal care, ParaguayAbstract
Introduction: Untreated maternal syphilis causes abortion, stillbirth, prematurity and congenital syphilis, preventable outcomes with prenatal screening and penicillin. In Paraguay the burden is high and local information on screening at the primary care level is scarce. The aim was to describe the frequency of reactive treponemal rapid test for syphilis among pregnant and postpartum women cared for at the District Hospital of San Juan Nepomuceno between 2022 and 2024, and its temporal distribution. Materials and methods: Observational, descriptive and retrospective study based on the facility's monthly screening records. The proportion of pregnant women with a reactive test among all screened women and the number of postpartum women with a reactive test were described using frequencies, without individual-level data. Results: 1319 pregnant women were screened (274 in 2022, from June to December; 512 in 2023; 533 in 2024). Thirty-one had a reactive test: 2.35% of the triennium, with annual proportions of 2.19%, 1.76% and 3.00%. Twenty-six reactive tests were recorded among postpartum women. The number of women cared for and of reactive cases increased over the period. Conclusions: At this district hospital about 2% of screened pregnant women had a reactive treponemal rapid test for syphilis, with a growing number of cases between 2022 and 2024. The descriptive findings from aggregated records of a single facility do not allow estimation of population incidence, confirmation of active infection or identification of associated factors; they support screening at first prenatal contact and its repetition in the third trimester and at delivery, treatment of every seroreactive pregnant woman and her partner and improved record keeping.References
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Copyright (c) 2025 Leandro Travisani, Ana Laura Pifer, Stefania Maria Klimczuk, Dayssy Franco (Autor/a)
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