TORCH screening used appropriately in China?─three years results from a teaching hospital in northwest China

OBJECTIVES: TORCH infections caused by Toxoplasma gondii (TOX), rubella virus (RV), cytomegalovirus (CMV) and herpes simplex virus 1,2 (HSV-1,2) are associated with congenital anomalies. The study aimed to analyze the characteristics of TORCH screening in reproductive age women. METHODS: A total of 18,104 women (2015–2017) from a teaching hospital in Xi’an, China, were enrolled in the study. The characteristics of TORCH screening, i.e., the application of TORCH test, the seroprevalence, the impact of age, periods of gestation and woman with bad obstetric history (BOH) on the serological data were investigated. RESULTS: In the study, 319 women (1.76%) performed dynamic TORCH test. 51.66, 20.44 and 3.83% of the population did the test in the pre-gestation period, the first and third trimester, respectively. Quite a few pre-gestation women (29.74%) ignored screening of IgG antibodies. The overall IgG/IgM seropositvity of TOX, RV, CMV, HSV-1 and HSV-2 was 4.35%/0.35, 90%/0.63, 96.79%/0.97, 81.11%/0.14 and 6.1%/0.19%, respectively. The age-specific distributions and periods of gestation had no significant effect on the seroprevalence of TORCH agents, p>0.05. However, BOH was significantly associated with higher seropositvity of IgM (RV, CMV, HSV-1 and HSV-2) and IgG (CMV and HSV-1) antibodies, p < 0.05. CONCLUSION: In Xi’an region, more attentions should be paid to TOX, CMV, HSV-2 and the women with BOH for TORCH screening. Meanwhile, a greater emphasis needs to be placed on TORCH test used inappropriately in China.