Syphilis baby treatment

Treatment of congenital syphilis is always recommended when the mother's treatment status for syphilis is not known, when the pregnant woman's treatment was only started in the third trimester or when the baby is difficult to follow after birth.

This is because all babies born to mothers infected with syphilis can show positive results on the examination of syphilis done at birth, even if they are not infected, due to the passage of the mother's antibodies through the placenta.

Thus, in addition to blood tests it is also important to be aware of the symptoms of congenital syphilis that arise in the baby, to decide the best form of treatment. See which are the main symptoms of congenital syphilis.

Treatment of syphilis in the baby

The baby's treatment varies according to the risk of syphilis infection after birth:

1. Very high risk of having syphilis

This risk is determined when the pregnant woman has not had treatment for syphilis, the baby's physical examination is abnormal, or the baby's syphilis test has VDRL values 4 times higher than the mother's. In these cases, treatment is done in one of the following ways:

Injection of 50, 000 IU / Kg of aqueous crystalline Penicillin every 12 hours for 7 days, followed by 50, 000 IU of aqueous crystalline Penicillin every 8 hours between the 7th and 10th day;

Injection of 50, 000 IU / kg of procaine Penicillin once daily for 10 days.

In either case, if you miss more than one day of treatment, it is recommended to start the injections again, to eliminate the risk of not fighting the bacteria correctly or getting infected again.

2. High risk of having syphilis

In this case, all babies that have a normal physical exam and a syphilis exam with a VDRL value equal to or less than 4 times that of the mother, but who were born to pregnant women who did not receive proper treatment for syphilis or who started treatment less are included. 4 weeks before delivery.

In these cases, in addition to the treatment options indicated above, another option can also be used, which consists of a single injection of 50, 000 IU / Kg of benzathine Penicillin. However, this treatment can only be done if there is certainty that the physical examination does not have any changes and the baby can be accompanied by the pediatrician to do regular syphilis tests.

3. Low risk of having syphilis

Babies at low risk of having syphilis have a normal physical exam, a syphilis exam with a VDRL value equal to or less than 4 times the mother's and the pregnant woman started the appropriate treatment more than 4 weeks before delivery.

Usually, the treatment is done only with a single injection of 50, 000 IU / Kg of benzathine Penicillin, but the doctor can also choose not to do the injection and just keep monitoring the baby's development with frequent syphilis tests, to assess if it really does. is infected, then undergoing treatment.

4. Very low risk of having syphilis

In this case, the baby has a normal physical examination, a syphilis test with a VDRL value equal to or less than 4 times the mother's and the pregnant woman did the appropriate treatment before becoming pregnant, presenting low VDRL values throughout the pregnancy.

Usually, treatment is not necessary for these babies, and should only be followed up with regular syphilis tests. In case it is not possible to maintain frequent monitoring, the doctor may recommend making a single injection of 50, 000 IU / Kg of benzathine Penicillin.

Watch the following video and learn more about the symptoms, transmission and treatment of syphilis:

How treatment is done in pregnant women

During pregnancy, the woman must undergo a VDRL test in the three trimesters to check for the presence or absence of the bacteria in the body. A decrease in the test result does not mean that the disease has been cured and, therefore, it is necessary to continue treatment until the end of the pregnancy.

The treatment of pregnant women during pregnancy occurs as follows:

In primary syphilis: total dose of 2, 400, 000 IU of benzathine penicillin; In secondary syphilis: total dose of 4, 800, 000 IU benzathine penicillin; In tertiary syphilis: total dose of 7, 200, 000 IU benzathine penicillin;

Performing the serological test for syphilis by taking a blood sample from the umbilical cord is important to know whether the baby is already infected or not. Blood samples taken from the baby at birth are also important to assess whether or not he has been infected with syphilis.

In neurosyphilis, it is recommended to make 18 to 24 million IU per day of crystalline aqueous penicillin G, intravenously, fractionated in doses of 3-4 million U every 4 hours, for 10 to 14 days.

Find out more about treatment, including how treatment is done when pregnant is allergic to Penicillin.