Tracy Wolff, MD, MPH; Erica Shelton, MD, MPH; Cecili Sessions, MD, MPH; Therese Miller, DrPH
In 2004, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force strongly recommended that clinicians screen all pregnant women for syphilis infection.
To update the evidence on screening pregnant women for syphilis infection.
MEDLINE searches from 1 January 2003 through 31 July 2008, recent systematic reviews, reference lists of retrieved articles, and expert suggestions.
English-language studies were selected to answer the following 2 questions: Does screening for syphilis in pregnancy reduce the prevalence of congenital syphilis in neonates? Are there harms of screening for syphilis or harms of treatment with penicillin in pregnancy to women or neonates? Randomized, controlled trials; meta-analyses; systematic reviews; cohort studies; and ecologic studies were selected for the potential benefits question. Randomized, controlled trials; meta-analyses; systematic reviews; cohort studies; case–control studies; and large case series were selected for the potential harms question.
Information on the study design, selection criteria, demographic characteristics, and clinical outcomes was extracted from each study.
One study on benefits evaluated the effect before and after the implementation of a universal syphilis screening program for pregnant women and found reductions in rates of congenital syphilis. Two studies on screening accuracy for syphilis reported false-positive rates of less than 1%. One study that used a large insurance claims database reported an incidence of anaphylaxis after oral penicillin of 0.1 per 10Â 000 dispensings. In a study from Hungary, oral penicillin in pregnancy was not associated with orofacial clefts.
This was a targeted literature search and could have missed small studies on the benefits and harms of screening for syphilis in pregnancy. We did not review evidence on interventions to improve rates of prenatal screening.
New evidence from a study of universal screening supports previous evidence on the effectiveness of screening for syphilis in pregnancy to prevent congenital syphilis. Harms include testing and follow-up for false-positive test results and adverse effects from penicillin treatment.
Does screening for syphilis in pregnancy reduce the prevalence of congenital syphilis in neonates?
Are there harms of screening for syphilis or harms of treatment with penicillin in pregnancy to women or neonates?
KQ = key question; STD = sexually transmitted disease.
Table.
Terms of Use
The In the Clinic® slide sets are owned and copyrighted by the American College of Physicians (ACP). All text, graphics, trademarks, and other intellectual property incorporated into the slide sets remain the sole and exclusive property of the ACP. The slide sets may be used only by the person who downloads or purchases them and only for the purpose of presenting them during not-for-profit educational activities. Users may incorporate the entire slide set or selected individual slides into their own teaching presentations but may not alter the content of the slides in any way or remove the ACP copyright notice. Users may make print copies for use as hand-outs for the audience the user is personally addressing but may not otherwise reproduce or distribute the slides by any means or media, including but not limited to sending them as e-mail attachments, posting them on Internet or Intranet sites, publishing them in meeting proceedings, or making them available for sale or distribution in any unauthorized form, without the express written permission of the ACP. Unauthorized use of the In the Clinic slide sets will constitute copyright infringement.
Wolff T, Shelton E, Sessions C, Miller T. Screening for Syphilis Infection in Pregnant Women: Evidence for the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force Reaffirmation Recommendation Statement. Ann Intern Med. ;150:710–716. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-150-10-200905190-00009
Download citation file:
© 2019
Published: Ann Intern Med. 2009;150(10):710-716.
DOI: 10.7326/0003-4819-150-10-200905190-00009
Guidelines.
Results provided by: