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. 2024 Apr 22;70(5):e20231006.
doi: 10.1590/1806-9282.20231006. eCollection 2024.

Factors influencing the positivity of diagnostic tests for congenital syphilis

Rodrigo Soares Ribeiro  1 , Natália Sperli Geraldes Marin Dos Santos Sasaki  1 , Alessandra Marinela de Abreu Queiroz  1 , Ana Cecília Mota Ferreira  2 , Gabriela de Souza Segura  1 , Maria de Lourdes Sperli Geraldes Santos  1 , Lara Helk de Souza  1 , Luciano Garcia Lourenção  3
Affiliations

Factors influencing the positivity of diagnostic tests for congenital syphilis

Rodrigo Soares Ribeiro et al. Rev Assoc Med Bras (1992). .

Abstract

Objective: The objective of this study was to analyze the factors that influence the positivity of treponemal and non-treponemal tests in cases of congenital syphilis.

Methods: This cross-sectional and correlational study was carried out from the analysis of the database of Disease and Notification Information System (SINAN, in Portuguese) using the data obtained through the Epidemiological Surveillance Group 29, with 639 notifications of congenital syphilis between 2007 and 2018. The data were analyzed by a descriptive and inferential analysis from logistic regression with a significance level of 5% (p≤0.05).

Results: The positivity of the treponemal test was higher by 4.5 times in infants living in rural areas and 19.6 times among those whose mothers obtained the diagnosis of syphilis after birth. The treponemal test showed positivity 3.2 times higher for the variable "having been diagnosed between 2007 and 2015" and 5.5 times higher for the variable "having been diagnosed with maternal syphilis in the postpartum period."

Conclusion: This study shows that testing during prenatal care is essential for early diagnosis and prevention of syphilis complications.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of interest: the authors declare there is no conflicts of interest

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