Fluorescent treponemal antibody-absorption (FTA-ABS) test in patients with aortic valvular insufficiency.

Aortic valvular insufficiency caused by syphilis cannot be differentiated by murmur or other clinical characteristics from other causes of aortic insufficiency, and the aid of serological tests is often sought. Routine serological tests for syphilis, such as the VDRL slide test, which utilize cardiolipin antigens, are reactive in only 75 to 95 per cent. of patients with cardiovascular syphilis diagnosed clinically (Cole, 1937; Kampmeier, 1964; Olansky, 1967; Rosahn, 1955; Slatkin, 1965). The fluorescent treponemal antibodyabsorption (FTA-ABS) test (Hunter, Norins, Falcone, and Stout, 1968), using Treponema pallidum organisms as the antigen, provides greater sensitivity in the sero-diagnosis of latent and tertiary syphilis: it is reactive in more than 95 per cent. of cases (Deacon, Lucas, and Price, 1966; Atwood, Millar, Stout, and Norins, 1968). In the present retrospective study, we describe the reactivity and diagnostic value of the FTA-ABS and VDRL slide tests in patients with the clinical diagnosis of aortic valvular insufficiency.