Pregnant women are considered a ‘special population’ by the CDC. Due to the potential burden to pregnant women, offspring and partners, providers should ask all pregnant women and their partners about STIs, and ensure counseling, screening and treatment are available.
Rapid HIV testing should be performed on any woman in labor who has not been screened during pregnancy, unless she declines
If rapid HIV test positive, antiretroviral prophylaxis should be administered prior to receiving confirmatory test results
AAP recommends expedited HIV testing as soon as possible after birth for infants born to women with unknown HIV status
NOTE: The USPSTF (June 2019) continues to recommend screening for HIV infection in all pregnant persons, including those who present in labor or at delivery whose HIV status is unknown. (A recommendation)
SYPHILIS
Cases of congenital syphilis have increased 10 fold in the past decade
Syphilis during pregnancy can lead to
Stillbirth | Miscarriage | Infant death | Maternal and infant morbidity
Serologic tests should be performed at first prenatal visit
Screening for syphilis infection is a 2-step process | Antepartum screening can be performed by manual nontreponemal antibody testing (e.g., RPR) by using the traditional syphilis screening algorithm or by treponemal antibody testing (e.g., immunoassays)
Traditional screening
Initial “nontreponemal” antibody test (ie, Venereal Disease Research Laboratory test or rapid plasma reagin [RPR] test) to detect biomarkers released from damage caused by syphilis infection
Followed by a confirmatory “treponemal” antibody detection test (ie, fluorescent treponemal antibody absorption [FTA-ABS] or T pallidum particle agglutination test [TP-PA])
Reverse sequence screening algorithm
Initial automated treponemal test (such as an enzyme-linked [EIA], chemiluminescence [CIA], or multiplex flow immunoassay [immunoblot])
Followed by a nontreponemal test
NOTE: If the test results of the reverse sequence algorithm are discordant, a second treponemal test (preferably using a different treponemal antibody) is performed
Pregnant women with positive treponemal screening tests (e.g., EIA, CIA, or immunoblot) should have additional quantitative nontreponemal testing because titers are essential for monitoring treatment response
If access to prenatal care is suboptimal, RPR test and treatment should be performed at time of pregnancy confirmation
Serologic retesting in the 3rd trimester (28 weeks) and at delivery if the patient for patients at high risk including
Sex with multiple partners | Sex in conjunction with drug use or transactional sex
Late entry to prenatal care (i.e., first visit during the second trimester or later) or no prenatal care
Methamphetamine or heroin use
Incarceration of the woman or her partner
Unstable housing or homelessness
Test any woman who delivers a stillborn or in the case of infant death
Untreated syphilis has a 40% infant death rate
Do NOT discharge neonate if serologic status is unknown
Newborn infection may not be immediately obvious
Within a few weeks may develop
Developmental delay
Seizures
Birth defects such as bone deformation, blindness and deafness
Note: In September 2018, the USPSTF reaffirmed previous guidance and “recommends early screening for syphilis infection in all pregnant women.” (Grade A – Offer or Provide this Service)
HEPATITIS B (HBV)
Screen during each pregnancy, preferably in the first trimester, regardless of vaccination status or history of testing
Use ‘triple panel’: Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), antibody to HBsAg, and total antibody to HBcAg (total anti-HBc)
If patient underwent appropriately timed triple panel screening and has not had any new HBV exposures since triple panel screening, only HBsAg screening is required
At time of admission for delivery, retest if patient
Is at high risk – more than one sex partner in previous 6 months, evaluation or treatment for STI, injection-drug use, HBsAG-positive sex partner
Was not screened prenatally
Has clinical hepatitis
Always do HBsAg testing prior to giving the HBV vaccine to avoid misinterpretation
Report HBsAg positive women to local or state health departments to ensure they are entered into a case management program to arrange access to appropriate vaccinations for contacts and prophylaxis for infants
If HBsAg positive, test for hepatitis B virus deoxyribonucleic acid (HBV DNA) to guide the use of antiviral medication to prevent perinatal transmission
If HBV DNA >200,000 IU/mL (7.6 log10 IU/mL): The American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases suggests antiviral therapy during pregnancy to further reduce perinatal HBV transmission
HEPATITIS C (HCV)
The CDC has updated HepC guidelines (2020)
Hepatitis C screening at least once in a lifetime for all adults aged ≥18 years, except in settings where the prevalence of HCV infection (HCV RNA-positivity) is <0.1%
Hepatitis C screening for all pregnant women during each pregnancy, except in settings where the prevalence of HCV infection (HCV RNA-positivity) is <0.1%
USPSTF also calls for universal screening for HCV infection, including pregnancy
Recommended Screening Tests for Pregnant Women at Risk
CHLAMYDIA
Test all pregnant women who are <25 years old for Chlamydia trachomatis at the first prenatal visit
Test all older women if at high risk:
More than one sex partner
A sex partner with concurrent partners or has an STI
Retest in the 3rd trimester to prevent maternal postnatal complications and chlamydia infection in the neonate
Test of cure by NAAT 3 to 4 weeks after treatment and retest within 3 months
GONORRHEA
Test all pregnant women who are <25 years old for N. gonorrhoeae at the first prenatal visit
Test all older women if at high risk:
More than one sex partner
A sex partner with concurrent partners or has an STI
Inconsistent condom use in non-monogamous relationships
Previous or co-existing sexually transmitted infections
Exchanging sex for money or drugs
Consider consulting local public health authorities for further guidance on identifying those at high risk related to geographic location
Treat all positive patients immediately and retest in 3 months
Retest in the 3rd trimester to prevent maternal postnatal complications and chlamydia infection in the neonate
Screen Only if Symptomatic
Bacterial Vaginosis (BV)
Evidence does not support routine screening
Evaluate and screen symptomatic women
The USPSTF addresses BV screening during pregnancy and states the following
The USPSTF addresses BV screening during pregnancy and states the following The USPSTF recommends against screening for bacterial vaginosis in pregnant persons not at increased risk for preterm delivery. (D recommendation)
The USPSTF concludes that the current evidence is insufficient to assess the balance of benefits and harms of screening for bacterial vaginosis in pregnant persons at increased risk for preterm delivery. (I statement)
Trichomonas
Evidence does not support routine screening
Evaluate and screen symptomatic women
HSV-2
Evidence does not support routine screening
In the absence of lesions during the 3rd trimester, routine cultures for HSV are not indicated for women in the 3rd trimester who have a history of recurrent genital herpes
Type-specific serologic tests may help identify pregnant women at risk for HSV and to help guide counseling regarding the risk of acquiring herpes during pregnancy
SYNOPSIS:
Recommendations for STI testing can vary based on certain considerations, including state laws. The CDC recommendations are considered broader, such that more women will potentially be screened, but are consistent with other CDC guidance with the intention of preventing adverse outcomes for pregnant women, partners and fetuses.
KEY POINTS:
All pregnant women and their partners should be asked about STIs and counseled regarding personal risks as well as pregnancy and outcomes
Pap Smears should be performed in pregnancy at the same frequency as nonpregnant women
Management of abnormal Pap tests differ in pregnancy
Screening at Delivery
SYPHILIS
Select groups of pregnant women, including women who are at high risk for syphilis or live in areas of high syphilis morbidity
Pregnant women with no previously established status
Pregnant women who deliver a stillborn infant
HIV
Pregnant women not screened during pregnancy
HBV
Women admitted for delivery at a health care facility without documentation of HBsAg test results should have blood drawn and tested as soon as possible after admission
Women at high risk
Having had more than one sex partner during the previous 6 months, an HBsAg-positive sex partner, evaluation or treatment for a sexually transmitted disease, or recent or current injection-drug use
Women with signs or symptoms of hepatitis
Note: CDC recommends universal hepatitis B vaccination within 24 hours of birth for medically stable infants >2000 grams
Permissive language that allowed the vaccine to be delayed until after hospital discharge has been removed
Administer hepatitis B vaccination and hepatitis immune globulin regardless of birth weight within 12 hours of birth for infants born to hepatitis b-infected mothers
CHLAMYDIA
Pregnant women less than 25 years of age
Continued high risk
New or multiple sex partners, sex partner with concurrent partners, sex partners who have a sexually transmitted disease
GONORRHEA
Continued high risk
Past or current injection-drug use, having had a blood transfusion before July 1992, receipt of an unregulated tattoo, having been on long-term hemodialysis, intranasal drug use, and other percutaneous exposures
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