LIANG Yuan-fei, QIU Li-xia, ZHU Hong, SONG Ping
Objective:To study serological test for syphilis of the newborns delivered by pregnant women with latent syphilis and the situation of negative Conversion. Methods:567 newborns delivered by pregnant women with latent syphilis from 2004 to 2011 in Shenzhen Futian were enrolled for this retrospective study. Serological tests of RPR/TPPA/19SIgM were conducted on the newborns in 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, 12 months and 18 months after birth, respectively. Factors such as RPR titers in mothers, stage to start treatment during pregnancy and treatment of the newborn after birth were analyzed when discussing influence on the transformation of the test results. Results:Among the 567 cases, 10 cases suffered from congenital syphilis, 23 cases had negative results for both RPR and TPPA, 102 cases showed positive result for TPPA only, and 432 cases showed positive results for both RPR and TPPA. The average time for conversion of the newborns positive results of RPR and TPPA into negative results were (268±208)months and (525±186)months for TPPA, respectively. Average time for conversion of positive results of both RPR and TPPA into negative were significantly shorter in newborns from mothers with low RPR titer (≤1∶8) than that with high RPR titer (≥1∶16) (P<0001 for both). No statistical significance was found among different pregnancy treatment groups and the two newborn groups with or without treatment. Conclusion:Pregnancy with latent syphilis can lead to congenital syphilis, and intervention in pregnancy or newborns can prevent development of congenital syphilis. Positive serological tests for syphilis can automatically convert into negative results in newborns without congenital syphilis. Low RPR titer of the mothers is probably one of the protective factors, and it is not affected by treatment during pregnancy or after birth.