| Popis: |
Background This study estimated the prevalence of curable sexually transmitted and reproductive tract infections (STIs/RTIs) among pregnant women attending antenatal care (ANC) in rural Zambia and evaluated the effectiveness of syndromic management of STIs/RTIs versus reference-standard laboratory diagnoses. Methods This was an observational cross-sectional study of 1,086 pregnant women. Participants were enrolled at ANC booking, socio-demographic information and biological samples were collected, and the provision of syndromic management based care was documented. The Piot-Fransen model was used to evaluate the effectiveness of syndromic management versus etiological testing. Results Participants had a mean age of 25.6 years and a mean gestational age of 22.0 weeks. Of 1084 women, 700 had at least one STI/RTI (64.6%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 61.7, 67.4). Only 10.2% of infected women received any treatment for a curable STI/RTI (excluding syphilis). Treatment was given to 0 of 56 women with chlamydia (prevalence 5.2%; 95% CI, 4.0, 6.6), 14.7% of participants with gonorrhoea (prevalence 3.1%; 95% CI, 2.2, 4.4), 7.8% of trichomoniasis positives (prevalence 24.8%; 95% CI, 22.3, 27.5); 7.5% of women with bacterial vaginosis (prevalence 48.7%; 95% CI, 45.2, 51.2). An estimated 7.1% (95% CI, 5.6, 8.7) of participants had syphilis and received treatment. Conclusions Curable STIs/RTIs were common and the majority of cases were undetected and untreated. Alternative approaches are urgently needed in the ANC setting in rural Zambia. |
