title: Failure of recommended maternal therapy to prevent congenital syphilis.
abstract: A pregnant women with secondary syphilis received appropriate therapy with penicillin in the last trimester of pregnancy. At delivery, her titre had fallen fourfold, and the baby had a non-reactive cord blood titre at birth. However, the treatment failed to prevent infection in the infant, and the baby had developed signs of congenital syphilis at 10 weeks of age. The definition of "adequate therapy" of pregnant women is unclear, and recent guidelines are contradictory. Therefore, literature that pertains to penicillin therapy in pregnancy is reviewed, and new guidelines for therapy proposed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, State University of New York, Brooklyn 11203.
authors.forename: S A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Rawstron
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Bromberg
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D005312:Fetal Blood; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D010401:Penicillin G Benzathine / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011251:Pregnancy Complications, Infectious / Q000188:drug therapy*; D013588:Syphilis Serodiagnosis; D013590:Syphilis, Congenital / Q000209:etiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D013591:Syphilis, Cutaneous / Q000150:complications* / Q000188:drug therapy
chemical_list: D010401:Penicillin G Benzathine