Prevalence of gestational and congenital syphilis in a public maternity hospital in Montevideo, Uruguay, in 2018 and 2019

Abstract

Background: Although congenital syphilis is preventable, mother-to-child transmission is a worldwide health problem. Aim: To determine the prevalence of active gestational syphilis and the prevalence of congenital syphilis in the period between January 1, 2018 and December 31, 2019 in the reference maternity unit of the public sector of Uruguay. Methods: Observational, descriptive and cross-sectional work. Results: 11,949 medical records were analyzed, 107 patients were selected in 2018 and 142 patients in 2019 who met the inclusion criteria. The calculated prevalence of gestational syphilis was 20.8 per 1000 pregnant women (249/11949), the incidence of congenital syphilis was 1.0 per 1000 live births (12/11949). Mortality was 0% in both periods. Conclusions: The prevalence of gestational syphilis increased in the 2018-2019 period. This trend is consistent with the increase in prevalence worldwide. The prevalence obtained 20.8 per 1,000 pregnant women is high compared to national data, unlike the incidence of congenital syphilis (1.0/1000) lower than the national ones that ranged from 1.4 to 2.2 per 1,000 live births in recent years.