Coverage of Antenatal Syphilis Screening and Predictors for Not Being Screened in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

The authors conducted the current study to assess the syphilis control program in Mongolia and to measure the coverage of antenatal syphilis screening and identify factors related to women not being screened.

The researchers reviewed antenatal care records of women in 16 antenatal clinics in six districts. In addition, women were interviewed postpartum to identify potential risk factors for not being screened.

Among 3,519 antenatal records, the coverage of syphilis screening was 77.7 percent. Of 2,735 screened women, 54 (2.0 percent) had reactive serological results and subsequently received treatment. Four subjects who came late to antenatal care delivered infants with congenital syphilis. Not being screened was significantly associated with late antenatal care (odds ratio OR=2.6), lack of knowledge (OR=5.5), history of previous sexually transmitted infection (OR=3.7) and living far from screening services (OR=4.9).

"The coverage of antenatal syphilis screening is still low, with poor contact tracing. More efforts are needed to promote early antenatal care visit and improve syphilis screening systems," the authors concluded.

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