McCullough Emily, Gratrix Jennifer, Smyzcek Petra, Charlton Carmen, Plitt Sabrina S
Provincial Laboratory for Public Health, Alberta Precision Laboratories, Edmonton, AB.
STI Services, Alberta Health Services, Edmonton, AB.
J Obstet Gynaecol Can. 2024 Jan;46(1):102229. doi: 10.1016/j.jogc.2023.102229. Epub 2023 Sep 22.
A retrospective 5-year province-wide evaluation of prenatal Neisseria gonorrhoeae (GC) and Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) screening in Alberta, Canada, was carried out to assess compliance with the provincial recommendations for universal prenatal screening as a prevention for neonatal ophthalmia. Screening generally improved across the province each year, 82.1% in 2018 and reaching 87.3% in 2022. Women in the age group under 25 years were the most likely to not have the recommended first-trimester screening and demonstrated the highest prevalence of GC and CT infections. The results of this investigation demonstrate that continued improvements are needed to achieve universal prenatal GC/CT screening in Alberta.