Validity of the VDRL test on cerebrospinal fluid contaminated by blood.

One of the most useful criteria for the diagnosis or exclusion of neurosyphilis is the result of a VDRL test performed on cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) obtained by lumbar puncture. A 'bloody tap' occurs in about 10 per cent. of lumbar punctures (Solomon, 1935). How valid is a reactive serological test for syphilis on CSF from a 'bloody tap'? Although several investigators have evaluated the problem of the reliability of the Wassermann test (Kafka, 1930; Stalder and Strehler, 1932; Solomon, Dailey, and Fremont-Smith, 1934; Foord and Bauckus, 1927) and the Kahn test (Loveman and Stocking, 1934) performed on CSF contaminated with blood, this is the first publication to evaluate the validity of the VDRL test in such cases.