Women's Health Testing
Fundamental Syphilis Prevention
There is a troubling rise in syphilis among women and newborns in the United States.1 The CDC reported that during 2015-2016 overall rate of syphilis in the US increased by 18%.1 Rates of primary and secondary infection among women increased by 36%. Increasing rates of syphilis among women has led to a steep rise in congenital syphilis. Congenital syphilis is preventable through routine screening and timely treatment.1
Testing Guidelines
ACOG guidelines recommend screening for syphilis women who are sexually active, and those who are at higher risk including women with a history of sexually transmitted infections, drug use, multiple or concurrent partners, adolescents who exchange sex for drugs or money, use intravenous drugs, are entering a detention facility,2 or live in a high-prevalence area.3
Diagnosing syphilis is more commonly made using two types of blood tests: nontreponemal tests and treponemal tests. Both tests are needed to confirm a diagnosis of syphilis.4 Labcorp offers two testing options:
Information
Testing Options
Option 1 | 012005
Rapid Plasma Reagin (RPR) test with Reflex to Quantitative RPR and Confirmatory Treponema pallidum Antibodies
Reference
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. STDs in Adolescents and Young Adults. https://www.cdc.gov/std/stats18/adolescents.htm. Accessed April 19, 2018
- CDC. STD & HIV Screening Recommendations. https://www.cdc.gov/std/prevention/screeningreccs.htm. Updated April 27, 2017. Accessed April 13, 2018
- USPSTF. Final recommendation Statement: Chlamydia and Gonorrhea Screening. https://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/Page/Document/Recommendati.... Published December 2016. Accessed April 13, 2018
- Owusu-Edusei K, Hoover KW, Gift TL. Cost-effectiveness of opt-out chlamydia testing for high-risk young women in the U.S. Am J Prev Med. 2016;51(2):216-24. doi: 10.1016/j. amepre.2016.01.007