BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: To study the epidemiology, diagnosis, treatment strategies and perinatal outcomes of gestational syphilis. PATIENTS AND METHOD: We performed a retrospective study of 94 pregnant women with syphilis whose gestation and delivery were monitored in a Department of Obstetrics from 2002 to 2010 among a total of 85,806 births of women without syphilis in the same period. RESULTS: The prevalence of gestational syphilis was 0.11%. Most of the women were foreign and the most prevalent type was late latent syphilis. Only 57 patients underwent right treatment despite adequate prescription. Maternal complications were confirmed in 31 pregnant women and 16 cases had fetal complications. We diagnosed 4 cases of neonatal syphilis, 3 of them with syphilitic meningitis, whose mothers had not completed the treatment correctly. CONCLUSIONS: The implementation of a mandatory syphilis serology in the pregnancy has enabled us to diagnose many cases of late latent syphilis. The successful completion of treatment must be ensured to prevent vertical transmission.
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: To study the epidemiology, diagnosis, treatment strategies and perinatal outcomes of gestational syphilis. PATIENTS AND METHOD: We performed a retrospective study of 94 pregnant women with syphilis whose gestation and delivery were monitored in a Department of Obstetrics from 2002 to 2010 among a total of 85,806 births of women without syphilis in the same period. RESULTS: The prevalence of gestational syphilis was 0.11%. Most of the women were foreign and the most prevalent type was late latent syphilis. Only 57 patients underwent right treatment despite adequate prescription. Maternal complications were confirmed in 31 pregnant women and 16 cases had fetal complications. We diagnosed 4 cases of neonatal syphilis, 3 of them with syphilitic meningitis, whose mothers had not completed the treatment correctly. CONCLUSIONS: The implementation of a mandatory syphilis serology in the pregnancy has enabled us to diagnose many cases of late latent syphilis. The successful completion of treatment must be ensured to prevent vertical transmission.