title: Antenatal screening for syphilis at a tertiary care hospital in Riyadh.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Routine serologic screening for syphilis is recommended for all pregnant women in Saudi Arabia. This study examined the results of routine antenatal syphilis screening at a tertiary care hospital in Riyadh.
  
  
  METHODS
  The results of rapid plasma reagin (RPR) tests were compiled for in 3270 pregnant women tested between October 2002 and March 2003 at King Khalid University Hospital. Any RPR reactivity observed in neat or diluted serum was considered positive and confirmed by a Treponema pallidum hemagglutination (TPHA) test.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Syphilis screening constituted 87% of RPR tests requested for all reasons during the study period. The majority of women (73%) were screened between 15 to 22 weeks of gestation. Of the 3270 women tested only one was found to have syphilis, a prevalence rate of 0.03%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The prevalence of syphilis is extremely low in the antenatal care population at King Khalid University Hospital in Riyadh. This calls for a nation-wide survey to assess the need for continuation of antenatal syphilis screening with regards to its potential benefits and cost effectiveness in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, College of Medicine and King Khalid University Hospital, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Zahid
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Shakoor
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods; D011247:Pregnancy; D011251:Pregnancy Complications, Infectious / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D011296:Prenatal Diagnosis / Q000379:methods*; D015995:Prevalence; D012529:Saudi Arabia / Q000453:epidemiology; D013587:Syphilis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D013588:Syphilis Serodiagnosis / Q000379:methods*