ABSTRACT Congenital and gestational syphilis are increasingly prevalent multisystemic infections in Brazil. This study aimed to present a case series of three children diagnosed with congenital syphilis even though their mother had unreactive treponemal tests. The VDRL (Venereal Disease Research Laboratory) titers of a 22-year-old mother with three pregnancies decreased after treatment. The mother did not have a reactive treponemal test, but all the three children were diagnosed with early congenital syphilis. This case series highlights the difficulty in diagnosing gestational and congenital syphilis in Brazil. Brazil tests Venereal Laboratory 22yearold yearold 22 year old treatment test 2

OBJETIVO: A sífilis congênita tem como agente etiológico o Treponema pallidum e resulta da contaminação do feto pela gestante infectada sem tratamento ou com tratamento inadequado. MÉTODO: Foi realizado um estudo observacional, prospectivo, longitudinal, com a participação de 428 recém-nascidos que foram acompanhados durante 18 meses em um ambulatório de sífilis de uma Maternidade Filantrópica em Aracaju. Os achados foram estatisticamente expressos de maneira descritiva e o programa estatístico utilizado foi o SPSS. RESULTADOS E CONCLUSÕES: A prevalência de sífilis congênita para 1000 nascidos vivos foi de 10,02 casos. Não compareceram à primeira consulta 28,2% dos recém-nascidos. Durante o acompanhamento, aos 18 meses, o percentual de abandono foi de 75%. O intervalo médio de cura dos recém-nascidos foi de 4,25 meses. Foi encontrada uma alta prevalência de sífilis congênita com baixas adesões à primeira consulta e ao acompanhamento; 67,1% foram tratados com penicilina cristalina e apenas 3% necessitaram repetir o tratamento.

OBJECTIVE: Treponema pallidum is the etiological agent of congenital syphilis, which results from fetal contamination by the infected mothers, who were not treated or were inadequately treated during pregnancy. METHODS: An observational, prospective and longitudinal study, was performed (2010-2014), through the evaluation of 428 newborns during 18 months in a syphilis clinic from a Philanthropic Maternity Hospital in Aracaju, capital city of the Northeastern state of Sergipe, Brazil. The findings were statistically expressed as descriptive data and the statistical program used was SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences). RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of congenital syphilis was 10.02/1,000 live births. A total of 120 (28%) of newborns did not attend the first appointment. During the observational period, at 18 months, the rate of abandonment was 75%. The average interval of healing of the newborns was 4.25 months. A high prevalence of congenital syphilis was found with low adhesion to the first consultation and monitoring period; 67.1% of newborns were treated with Crystalline Penicillin (Penicillin G) and only 3% of them required a repeat treatment.