Patient's question:
Doctor, I'd like to ask, can the Down syndrome screening detect syphilis? My friend was diagnosed with syphilis, but the hospital only performed the Down syndrome screening test, and that's how they made the diagnosis. Could it be just a coincidence, or is this test capable of detecting it?Doctor's answer:
Syphilis is a sexually transmitted disease caused by the transmission of Treponema pallidum. To diagnose how syphilis is transmitted, it is necessary to conduct a blood test to check for Treponema pallidum antibodies. Down syndrome screening is determined by measuring the levels of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), alpha-fetoprotein, and estriol in a pregnant woman's blood, and then comprehensively analyzing these results along with the pregnant woman's age, weight, gestational age, and other factors to estimate the probability of the fetus having Down syndrome. Down syndrome screening cannot detect how syphilis is transmitted.