Factors associated with unfavorable outcomes caused by syphilis infection in pregnancy

Abstract

Objective: to analyze factors associated with unfavorable outcomes caused by syphilis infection in pregnancy. Methods: descriptive study carried out from May to August 2014, in public maternity hospitals. A questionnaire was administered to all women with a reactive Venereal Disease Research Laboratory (VDRL) test result and the data were supplemented with information from medical records and prenatal files. The bivariate analysis was performed using Pearson’s chi-square or Fisher's exact test. For the multivariate analysis, was used through the logistic regression model. Results: a total of 137 puerperal women participated in the study, of which 14.3% had an unfavorable outcome, namely: stillbirth (2.9%), preterm birth (8.8%) and low birth weight (2.9%). In the multivariate analysis the odds ratio for the prevalence of an unfavorable outcome was three-fold higher in women who did not undergo a second VDRL test (OR=3,54; IC95% 1,04-15,33) and two-fold higher in women with a VDRL titer >1:8 (OR=2,15; IC95% 1,11-11,2). Conclusions: The unfavorable outcomes occurred in women who did not undergo the second VDRL test and those whose VDRL titer was >1:8 performed in the maternity hospital.