Background The World Health Organization has set a goal to eliminate mother‐to‐child transmission of syphilis to a target of <50 cases per 100 000 live births. This study aimed to determine the rate of congenital syphilis and identify gaps in prevention. Methods A retrospective chart review was conducted in a tertiary care center in Bangkok, Thailand. The study included all pregnant women with positive syphilis serology and their infants. All congenital syphilis cases were categorized according to Centers for Disease Control criteria. Results From 2013 to 2017, 69 syphilis‐infected pregnant women were included, with 30 congenital syphilis cases. The rate of congenital syphilis was 115 cases (95% CI 78–164) per 100 000 live births. The median (interquartile range) maternal age was 21 (18–32) years and 12 (17%) women had human immunodeficiency virus co‐infection. Regarding maternal treatment, 28 (41%) women had inadequate treatment due to 13 cases (19%) of late or no antenatal care, six cases (8%) of recent infection near delivery, five cases (7%) of failure of treatment provision, and four (6%) others. There were three syphilitic stillbirths who were prematurely born to untreated pregnant women and 67 live births (one set of twins) of which 27 met definitions of probable congenital syphilis. They received complete treatment with penicillin and had non‐reactive rapid plasma reagin within the first 6 months of life, with the exception of one who had non‐reactive rapid plasma reagin at the age of 7 months. Conclusions Congenital syphilis remains a problem in our setting. Nearly half of pregnant women who had syphilis had inadequate treatment. There is an urgent need to strengthen diagnosis and the treatment cascade of syphilis during antenatal care.

Background In 1975, King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital (KCMH) in Bangkok, Thailand, published data on common orthopedic problems in neonates. Objectives To determine the more recent incidence of these conditions and to compare the results with those reported 40 years ago by KCMH. The data were also compared with a recent report from Siriraj Hospital. Methods We reviewed medical records of newborn infants from 2012 to 2016, all of whom were born in KCMH with deformities of upper and lower extremities or other birth-related injuries. The cases were grouped according to International Classification of Diseases, 10th edition. The incidence of common neonatal orthopedic problems was calculated as cases per 1,000 live births and compared, using a chi-squared test, with the earlier data from KCMH and with the data recently reported by Siriraj hospital. Results Of the 24,825 live births, 54% were male and 46% were female. The average birth weight was 3,052.2 ± 516.1 g (range, 535–5,320 g) for infants. The most common deformity was postural clubfoot, followed by calcaneovalgus and hip dysplasia, with incidences of 1.37, 0.93 and 0.52 per 1,000 live births, respectively. The incidence of calcaneovalgus, metatarsus adductus, and clubfoot was lower than in the 1975 study and in the report from Siriraj. In all 3 studies, the incidence of birth-related injury was similar and clavicular fracture was the most common, with a rate of 1.3/1,000 live births. Conclusion The incidence of common neonatal orthopedic problems varies among institutions. Birth-related injury is a major challenge. The results may be utilized as updated data and as a starting point for parental education.

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