title: An eight-year retrospective analysis of antenatal screening results for syphilis: is it still cost effective?
abstract: BACKGROUND
  This study aimed to document the prevalence of syphilis among pregnant women in Turkey.
  
  
  METHODS
  In this retrospective cohort study, a total of 63,276 sera obtained between January 2007 and June 2014 from women who were routinely screened for syphilis as a part of antenatal care at a tertiary referral hospital in Turkey were analyzed. Serological screening was done with the rapid plasma reagin (RPR) test on venous blood samples. Treponema pallidum hemagglutination assay (TPHA) was the confirmation test for the diagnosis of syphilis in patients who had positive results in the screening test.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Between 2007 and the first six months of 2014, 41 RPR+ and only five confirmed syphilis-positive patients were determined. The syphilis seroprevalence rate was 0.0648%. Within these years, there was no case of congenital syphilis detected in the hospital.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  As there is evidence of effective screening of syphilis contributing to the effective treatment and prevention of adverse outcomes, routine antenatal screening of syphilis is recommended. The rationale depends on the consideration of the serious results of not treating the disease and the cost effectiveness of screening.
authors.affiliation: Zekai Tahir Burak Women Health Care, Training and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey. tugbaltun@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Tugba
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ensari
authors.forename: Ayse
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kirbas
authors.forename: Ayse Seval
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Ozgu-Erdinc
authors.forename: Sibel
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gokay Saygan
authors.forename: Salim
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Erkaya
authors.forename: Dilek
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Uygur
authors.forename: Nuri
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Danisman
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008875:Middle Aged; D011247:Pregnancy; D011296:Prenatal Diagnosis / Q000191:economics*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D012698:Serologic Tests / Q000191:economics* / Q000379:methods*; D013587:Syphilis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D014210:Treponema pallidum / Q000276:immunology*; D014421:Turkey / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult