1. Seropositivity of syphilis among individuals screened in a tertiary hospital in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia
- Author
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Nahid H. O. Wanni, Reem Al Dossary, Obeid E. Obeid, Nourah Hasan Al Qahtani, Zaheenul Islam Siddiqui, Ayman A. El-Badry, and Khaled R. Alkharsah
- Subjects
Medicine - Abstract
BACKGROUND: Sexually transmitted infections are a serious public health problem. Syphilis, a multistage, curable chronic disease caused by the spirochete Treponema pallidum, remains a major health problem worldwide. The disease re-emerged in the era of HIV in many countries despite the accessibility of curative therapy and continuing public health efforts to eliminate it. OBJECTIVE: Analyse the seropositivity for syphilis. DESIGN: Retrospective cross-sectional. SETTING: Tertiary hospital. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We retrospectively studied individuals who underwent screening tests for syphilis between January 2014 and December 2018. The samples that were positive by both screening and confirmatory tests were considered as confirmed positive for syphilis. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Syphilis positivity identified by chemiluminescence immunoassay, the rapid plasma reagin test, and specific antibodies against Treponema pallidum. SAMPLE SIZE: 11 832. RESULTS: Of the 11 832, 54 (0.45%) were confirmed as seropositive for syphilis. Thirty-three (61.1%) were non-Saudi; 21 (38.9%) were Saudis. Thirty (55.6%) cases were males. Twenty-two (40.74%) were married and 29 (53.70%) were unmarried. Of the 54 diagnosed as syphilis positive, 28 (51.9%) were expatriate workers screened for pre-employment. The percentage of syphilis among Saudis was 0.36%. In an overall chi-square analysis, a P
- Published
- 2021
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