Complications, clinical manifestations of congenital syphilis, and aspects related to its prevention: an integrative review

Abstract

Objectives: to identify the scientific evidence about the clinical complications and manifestations of congenital syphilis and aspects related to its prevention.

Methods: integrative review after a search in the databases LILACS and MEDLINE, carried out in March 2018, using the descriptors "syphilis, congenital", "complications", and "signs and symptoms", leading to the selection of 27 researches.

Results: the publications found were published from 1966 to 2017, and most of them were from Latin America and Africa. Negative outcomes, laboratory changes, and the clinical manifestations in congenital syphilis, whether early or delayed, were, respectively: low weight at birth, anemia, hepatosplenomegaly, and dental alterations. The lack of treatment of the pregnant women in the prenatal was the most common occasion in which the opportunity to prevent the complications of congenital syphilis was lost.

Conclusions: the scientific evidences analyzed showed serious complications of congenital syphilis that could be avoided if early opportunities of diagnosing and treating the pregnant women are not lost during the prenatal.