Rita Revollo, Freddy Tinajeros, Caroline De Hilari, Sandra Garcia, Claudia Diaz, and Lourdes Zegarra. "Syphilis screening among postpartum women in Bolivian urban hospitals."

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To determine syphilis prevalence among postpartum women in six urban hospitals in Bolivia.

METHODS: From May to September 2004, in the recovery rooms of six hospitals' maternity wards, we recruited women who had had a live birth and who had either not undergone routine blood tests during pregnancy or had not obtained their results. We administered the Abbott Determine TP rapid strip test for syphilis and, among those women testing positive, provided treatment to the women as well as their newborns. Participants' partners received presumptive treatment.

RESULTS: Of the 1,363 participants, 109 tested positive for syphilis with the Abbott Determine TP, a prevalence of 7.9 percent (95% CI, 7.5–8.2). Of the 109 syphilis cases, 93 (85 percent) had received prenatal care, of whom 46 (49 percent) had never received traditional syphilis screening with the rapid plasma reagin (RPR) test. Of the 47 (51 percent) who did undergo the RPR test, none had obtained her results.

CONCLUSIONS: Postpartum rapid strip tests can facilitate detection of syphilis among new mothers. It is important to improve follow-up of syphilis screening during prenatal care to ensure that women undergo both screening and treatment, both critical to preventing congenital syphilis.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

• Describe the negative health consequences of congenital syphilis;
• Identify challenges of prenatal syphilis screening in Bolivia;
• Understand the potential for rapid strip tests for syphilis to improve prenatal syphilis diagnosis in Bolivia.

Poster Session 3274.0: Women's Use of Reproductive Health Services
Monday, 6 November 2006, 2:30–3:30 pm

APHA 2006 Conference Web site
 

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