Background: World Health Organization estimated that 1.86 million cases of syphilis occur globally among pregnant women each year and that a large proportion of them are untreated or inadequately treated. Up to one third of the women attending antenatal care (ANC) clinics are not tested for syphilis.  If syphilis is left untreated during pregnancy, it can lead to fetal loss or stillbirth or, in a live born infant, neonatal death, prematurity, low birth weight or congenital syphilis. There are separate studies conducted in different regions of Ethiopia on Seroprevalence of Syphilis, but the figures vary across regions with no national representative data. Therefore, we aimed to summarize the effect of STI in pregnancy outcome in Ethiopia, using meta-analysis based on systematic review of published & unpublished articles.

Methods: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of Seroprevalence of Syphilis among Pregnant Women from 5 published studies. To conduct this systematic review and meta-analysis from 11/01/2018 to 01/03/2018, major databases such as; Google Scholar, MEDLINE, EMBASE, Psych Info, Web of science, CINAHL, Soc Index, Academic Search Premier, Family and Society Studies Worldwide, Women’s Studies International, Africa Wide Information and Google were systematically searched. A standardized data extraction format, and analysis was done using STATA version 11. A Statistical heterogeneity across the studies was evaluated by using Cochran’s Q test and I² statistic. The pooled effect size was conducted in the form of prevalence.  Moreover, univariate meta regression, the Egger’s weighted regression and Begg’s rank correlation tests were used to assess potential publication biases.

Results: This meta-analysis included a total of 6,230 participants. The pooled seroprevalence of syphilis among pregnant women was 3.67% (95% CI (1.79%–7.23%). There is significant variation among regions and more common in urban areas.

Conclusion: This finding revealed that there was a high magnitude of syphilis among pregnant women in Ethiopia with higher rates in urban areas. The results of this study urge the need for universal screening of syphilis infections early in pregnancy and applying syndromic treatment approach to reduce vertical transmission.

Keywords: Meta-analysis, Systemic review, Seroprevalence, Syphilis, Ethiopia