Syphilis during pregnancy: diagnosis, treatment, consequences for the fetus

Nobody insured against the infection of venereal diseases. It is especially important to exclude such a probability during pregnancy. How to identify syphilis in pregnant women?

Syphilis is a severe and fairly unpleasant venereal disease, which causes the defeat of the mucous membranes, skin, nervous system and internal organs. In addition, the disease is accompanied by the immune and biological restructuring of all organs and systems.

The causative agent is a pale treponem (spirochete). A particularly serious problem is syphilis during pregnancy, which can lead to miscarriage, premature childbirth or the birth of a child with congenital pathologies.

Identification of syphilis in pregnant women

For early detection of this disease, all pregnant women in consultation on registration are prescribed screening for syphilis. Subsequently, for the entire pregnancy, a woman even twice will have to undergo this screening: on the 28-30 week of pregnancy and for 39-40 weeks (before registration of documents in the hospital).

Control the sexual contacts of their pregnant patients not a single doctor is no power, however, the preservation of the health of the woman itself and its future baby is his direct responsibility. Therefore, these surveys are held to detect syphilis during pregnancy and take measures as early as possible.

At the same time, no woman in an interesting position can be 100% confident that it is not sick, even if there is a single partner and sex only with a condom.

After all, the disease can be transmitted not only with sexual contacts, the probability of infection with syphilis by household is also large enough. Plus, the disease can flow asymptically for a long time, having a detrimental effect on all organs and systems at this time.

That is why all pregnant women are recommended to undergo surveys, which allow you to make sure that the future baby is not threatened. Each woman should clearly understand that timely detection and adequate treatment will help to avoid the development of severe complications during pregnancy.

Types of research

To pass the screening to syphilis, a gynecologist can recommend a pregnant woman with one of two tests: the reaction of Wasserman (RW, RV) or microreaction of precipitation (MR). The first type of analyzes is recently used less often, as it often gives an erroneous result.

If screening gave positive results, the doctor should give a referring to the passage of additional analyzes, which are designed to clarify the diagnosis and eliminate the presence of false positive syphilis during pregnancy.

There are 5 types of additional methods used to confirm the diagnosis:

• Reef – immunofluorescence reaction;
• Immunoblotting;
• Ribt is the reaction of the immobilization of pale trepoon;
• ELISA – an immunoassay analysis;
• RPGA – Passive hemagglutination reaction.

Pass all the above analysis to confirm the diagnosis. As a rule, only two are prescribed – RPGA and RIF. If their results are contradictory, it is assigned to passing other analyzes from this list.

Pregnancy and false positive syphilis

Such a phenomenon as a false positive analysis of the analysis regularly overshadows the joy of maternity to many women. What will provoke a false positive result of the analysis to the Vasserman reaction?

Quite often such a detection «false disease» happens after the cured syphilis, in the case when less than three years have passed since recovery. In this case, additional research is appointed a woman.

But unfortunately, in the case of obtaining positive screening analyzes, women are really confirmed by syphilis, since the women who have surrendered by this disease know that pregnancy planning after cured syphilis is desirable to start not earlier than the term of three years.

The most reliable way to confirm the false positive analysis is to conduct a sexual partner examination. If the signs of the disease, he has not been detected and the woman firmly convinced that she had no contacts with other partners, it makes sense to appoint a re-examination. If the sexual partner also found signs of this disease, it is necessary to urgently begin treatment to both.

Detection and treatment

If screening, and additional analyzes gave a positive result and the diagnosis was confirmed, a woman must undergo a treatment consisting of two courses: the main and prophylactic.

The main course is carried out immediately after the diagnosis in a hospital, and the second preventive can be carried out outpatient on 20-24 weeks of pregnancy.

For the treatment of this disease in pregnant women (and not only) used antibiotics of penicillin rows and drug «Ceftriaxon». At the end of the total treatment, the disease stops its development, that is, the primary syphilis does not develop into secondary, and secondary – in tertiary.

Further damage to the tissues and organs of the body of the adhesive, disappear on the skin, the nervous system does not damage. With systematic treatment of syphilis and the fulfillment of all prescriptions, the doctor will be obtained in the shortest possible time.

It is believed that women who have passed the course of treatment become unsuccessful. Modern drugs and methods of treating this disease make it possible to prevent the appearance of a disease in a child with a high probability, subject to the detection of the disease on the first two trimesters of pregnancy. However, after birth, the newborn is subject to compulsory survey.

Treatment of pregnant women with a diagnosis delivered during pregnancy, as a rule, is carried out in an infectious hospital or a specialized hospital. Births should also be carried out in a special observation department of the usual maternity hospital or in a specialized hospital.

The consequences of intrauterine infection

Even if a pregnant woman’s sick syphilis is able to avoid spontaneous late miscarriage on 12-16 weeks of pregnancy and to endure a child up to 38-40 weeks, he may be born already dead or will have a different kind of pathology and complications.

The symptoms of congenital syphilis are manifested immediately after the child’s birth. Such children are usually born with signs of prematurity, have characteristic lesions of the skin and bones, liver, kidney and nervous system. They do not gain weight, slowly develop and often do not take the chest.

In addition, such newborns are characterized by increased anxiety and anxiety, they sleep badly and almost always cry.

Children, whose mothers ever suffered this disease, are under particularly close observation of doctors. When identifying signs of congenital illness immediately after birth, treatment is appointed, while the kid is transferred from the hospital to a specialized infectious hospital.

Children who have any signs of having congenital syphilis, watch the entire first year of life in a vendisperess. At the same time, for the news, this period every 3 months appropriate analyzes are taken, the very first blood test is taken immediately after bodies from the umbilical.

In the first analysis, the presence of antibodies to the treponam is considered admissible, as they are received from the mother. The results of subsequent analyzes in the norm should show a decrease in the number of these antibodies. The increase in the number of antibodies is talking about child infection and the need for treatment under hospital.

Take care of your health and health of your baby!