Syfilis bij de verslaafde zwangere: betere zorg mogelijk door meer alertheid en meer contact tussen betrokken instellingen

- Three women, aged 21, 20 and 30 years, were cocain users and pregnant. There had been no prenatal monitoring until they reported with uterine contractions. Blood of the first two women was then tested; serology revealed active syphilis infections; their children had died in utero. The blood of the third woman had been tested as part of a street project; it revealed an active syphilitic infection but she could not be found for treatment. After delivery, the child showed withdrawal symptoms. The first and third women and the child of the third woman were treated with benzylpenicillin. The system for screening and treating drug-addicted pregnant women should be intensified.