Antenatal screening for syphilis Is not justified

BMJ 1994;309:194 (16 July)

Letters

Antenatal screening for syphilis Is not justified

EDITOR, - In these heady days of cost effective health care,priority setting, and market forces, I felt as though I wasback in the 1970s while reading Angus Nicoll and Clare Moisley'seditorial on antenatal screening for syphilis.¹ They describea routine test that is extensively carried out to prevent acondition whose true incidence is unknown. It is all very wellapplauding new surveillance initiatives, but isn't it surprisingthat these were not started some years go? There is no mentionat all of the costs of the tests in Britain, let alone whetherthe tests are cost effective. Screening for some conditions- for example, cholesterol testing - has moved focus recentlyfrom general screening to the targeting of high risk populations.If we accept that congenital syphilis may increase in Britain(as it has done in the United States) has any considerationbeen given to offering . . . [Full text of this article]

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