Key points are not available for this paper at this time.
Treatment for maternal syphilis with single-dose benzathine penicillin (2.4 million units intramuscularly) is being implemented in many parts of sub-Saharan Africa. To examine the effectiveness of this regimen, a prospective cohort of 1688 pregnant women was recruited in Tanzania. Birth outcomes were compared among women treated for high-titer (n=133; rapid plasma reagin RPR titer > or = 1:8 and Treponema pallidum hemagglutination assay TPHA/fluorescent treponemal antibody FTA positive) and low-titer (n=249; RPR titer <1:8 and TPHA/FTA positive) active syphilis and 950 uninfected women. Stillbirth or low-birth-weight live births were observed in 2.3% and 6.3%, respectively, of women treated for high-titer active syphilis and in 2.5% and 9.2%, respectively, of seronegative women. There was no increased risk for adverse pregnancy outcome for women treated for high-titer active syphilis (odds ratio OR, 0.76; 95% confidence interval CI, 0.4-1.4) or low-titer active syphilis (OR, 0.95; 95% CI, 0.6-1.5), compared with seronegative women. Single-dose treatment is effective in preventing adverse pregnancy outcomes attributable to maternal syphilis.
Watson‐Jones et al. (Wed,) studied this question.