Gestational and congenital syphilis: epidemiological analysis of
factors related to notifications in the state of Rio Grande do Norte.
Syphilis. Pregnancy. Congenital syphilis. Prenatal care. Epidemiologic Surveillance Services
Syphilis is considered a sexually transmitted infection, of a systemic and curable character, caused by Treponema pallidum and treatable with antibiotics. It has high rates of vertical transmission, aggravating serious problems of morbidity and mortality as a congenital syphilis. Its general objective is to analyze the factors related to the reported cases of gestational and congenital syphilis in the state of Rio Grande do Norte. This is a research with a quantitative epidemiological approach, of a descriptive and ecological type, derived from secondary data, having the state of Rio Grande do Norte as its coverage area, carried out in 2020. The sample was composed based on the criteria of eligibility and totaled 1892 notifications of syphilis in pregnant women and 2101 notifications for congenital syphilis in the period from 2014 to 2018. Data collection took place between the months of October to December through the bank of the Information System for Notifiable Diseases. The data were organized in the Microsoft Excel program for tabulation and statistical analysis using the software Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 23.0. For statistical analysis, the Chi-square or Fisher's exact tests were used, as well as Odds Ratio with respective 95% confidence intervals (95% CI), followed by logistic regression to obtain the adjusted values to verify the associations between the variables of interest. The significance adopted was p <0.05. Finally, statistical differences between the values spent (R$) for hospitalization between gestational and congenital syphilis were obtained, when parametric, by independent t test and when the Gaussian assumption was broken by Mann-Whitney and as a measure of the quality of fit of the logistic model was the Hosmer and Lemeshow test was used, in which a p> 0.05 will indicate that the model is adjusted. Inherent to ethical aspects, the research was conducted in accordance with Resolution 510/16 of the National Health Council, which addresses the guidelines and regulatory standards for research involving human beings and how the study made use of secondary data, analysis by the Ethics and Research Committee. During the investigated period, an increase in reported cases was observed in the year 2018. The registered maternal profile points to women with an average age of 20 to 29 years (50,0%), brown (57,9%), with low education (61,2%). The analysis of prenatal care identified a predominance of maternal diagnosis in the third gestational trimester (40,0%) despite the fact that (84,3%) of these pregnant women performed it and the presence of nontreponemal reactive tests in (86,2%) and treponemal tests (49,5%) of women at delivery. With regard to maternal treatment, only (3,3%) of these women were registered with an appropriate treatment scheme and (18,6%) of partners were treated concurrently with pregnant women. In the outcomes related to children, (98,5%) were diagnosed with recent congenital syphilis and a number of (1,1%) of deaths from the disease in the state. Regarding hospitalizations for the notified condition, it presented an average number of 79,2 for congenital syphilis with an average value of R$ 4,217 per child. The results point, moreover, to important gaps in the processes of epidemiological surveillance regarding the filling of notifications regarding ignored and blank information. The analysis of notification of gestational and congenital syphilis made it possible to conclude that vertical transmission was related to missed diagnostic and therapeutic opportunities. The development of strategies for early detection and adherence to the treatment of the disease must be adopted, with a view to strengthening care and breaking the chain of vertical transmission of syphilis, in addition to avoiding and / or minimizing hospitalizations of children as a result of congenital syphilis. We emphasize the need for professional qualification for notification of the disease, as well as care for hospitalization of the newborn affected by the disease and expansion of the provision of information to epidemiological surveillance, in order to allow the continuity of the analysis of the disease.