Initial testing should occur at a patient’s first prenatal visit, followed by universal rescreening in the third trimester and again at birth, the group said. Previously, screening was only recommended during the third trimester for certain at-risk patients.
“There has been a near eightfold increase in congenital syphilis cases in the last decade or more, and from a public health perspective, we recognize that obstetrician–gynecologists and other obstetric care clinicians play a critical role,” Christopher Zahn, MD, interim CEO and chief of clinical practice and health equity and quality for ACOG, said in a news release. “While we continue to endorse CDC’s sexually transmitted infection treatment guidelines, ACOG’s new guidance will no longer follow an individualized risk-based approach to testing later in pregnancy and instead help ensure more opportunities for testing and treatment.”
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