title: Utility of immunochromatographic assay as a rapid point of care test for screening of antenatal syphilis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Syphilis is one of the most common preventable causes of adverse effects during pregnancy. Antenatal screening prevents the delay between diagnosis and treatment there by reducing the risk of congenital syphilis. The objective of this study was to evaluate the utility of an immunochromatographic assay as a point of care test for antenatal screening of syphilis.
  
  
  METHODS
  Sera of 200 antenatal mothers were evaluated for serodiagnosis of syphilis by the venereal disease research laboratory (VDRL), Treponema pallidum hemagglutination assay (TPHA) and SD BIOLINE Syphilis 3.0 test. The performance of SD BIOLINE Syphilis 3.0 test was compared with VDRL as screening assay and TPHA as a confirmatory test.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The antenatal prevalence of syphilis was found to be 2% by both VDRL and TPHA. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and the negative predictive value of SD BIOLINE Syphilis 3.0 test were 75%, 100%, 100%, and 99.45%, respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Antenatal screening and treatment of maternal syphilis are cost-effective health interventions even under the low prevalence of infection. SD BIOLINE Syphilis 3.0 test, although having less sensitivity than the existing testing strategy, can have a tremendous impact on the disease burden if used prudently for the screening of antenatal mothers in peripheral health settings.
authors.affiliation: Deparment of Microbiology, Maulana Azad Medical College, New Delhi, India.
authors.forename: Bineeta
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kashyap
authors.affiliation: Deparment of Microbiology, University College of Medical Sciences and Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital, New Delhi, India.
authors.forename: Tanu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sagar
authors.affiliation: Deparment of Microbiology, University College of Medical Sciences and Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital, New Delhi, India.
authors.forename: Iqbal R
authors.initials: IR
authors.lastname: Kaur
keywords: Antenatal screening; India; SD BIOLINE Syphilis 3.0 test; syphilis (Treponema pallidum)