BACKGROUND Increasing interest in the use of enzyme immunoassays (EIA) for syphilis screening has generated a considerable need for data on the performance of such tests. METHODS We compared the performance of 1 EIA, the TREP-SURE EIA to that of the Venereal Disease Research Laboratory (VDRL) and Treponema pallidum particle agglutination assay (TPPA) in the detection of infection with Trepone...

Sir, the application of the novel nanotechnology in diagnostic medicine is very interesting. In neurology, there are some previous reports. Focusing on the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) examination, some previous publications previously mentioned for the application of gold nanoparticle solution as a diagnostic reagent for protein and Cryptococcus determination within CSF. Here, the author addition...

OBJECTIVE To determine the reliability of serological tests in detecting syphilis in a factory worker cohort and examine the impact of concurrent HIV infection on serological tests for syphilis. METHOD Reactions to non-treponemal and treponemal antigens were tested using sera from a cohort of 3401 factory workers in Harare, Zimbabwe. The participants consented to regular testing for syphilis,...

Syphilis serology is a basic screening test for the workers who want to go abroad. Many countries reject migrant workers who have reactive syphilis serology. Biological false reactives warrant repeated syphilis serology. We prospectively studied 30 patients (25 males and 5 females) who had biological false reactive VDRL tests (VDRL reactive, confirmatory TPHA negative). Affirmative tests for sy...

Presently, the diagnosis of syphilis is dependent mainly on serological tests. The most widely used screening tests for syphilis are the VDRL and the rapid plasma reagin (RPR) and for confirmation, the fluorescent treponemal antibody (FTA) and the treponema pallidum hemagglutination (TPHA) tests. The four alternative modes for diagnosis of syphilis can be a) VDRL + FTA, b) VDRL + TPHA, c) RPR +...

AIMS To review the performance of the Venereal Diseases Research Laboratory (VDRL) test and the Treponema pallidum haemagglutination assay (TPHA) as a combined screen for syphilis to provide a baseline for assessing screening by anti-treponemal IGG EIA. METHODS Between 1980 and 1987 all serum samples were screened by both VDRL and TPHA tests. The FTA-ABS test was also used in suspected early ...

The toluidine red unheated serum test (TRUST) antigen, a macroscopic flocculation test antigen developed by Pettit et al. (J. Clin. Microbiol. 18:1141-1145, 1983) by modifying the color-coded antigen of Kasatiya and Lambert (Appl. Microbiol. 28:317-318, 1974), was compared with the Venereal Disease Research Laboratory (VDRL) slide and rapid plasma reagin (RPR) 18-mm circle card tests for sensit...

OBJECTIVE To observe the pretreatment VDRL titres in different stages of early syphilis and evaluate the changes in VDRL titre following treatment using different treatment schedules. DESIGN Retrospective study was carried out by analysing the records of cases of early syphilis treated between 1976 to 1981. SETTING Armed Forces personnel treated at different service hospitals in India. SU...

OBJECTIVE To determine the seroprevalence of syphilis in pregnant women attending antenatal care clinics in a rural hospital in Ethiopia and describe their characteristics so that timely and effective care can be offered. SUBJECTS Pregnant women attending antenatal care clinics at a rural hospital. METHODS A cross sectional study was conducted at a rural hospital in north west Ethiopia in S...

OBJECTIVES IgM antibodies are usually the first to be produced during treponemal infection. Three commercially available enzyme immunoassays (EIA) for detection of IgM antibodies against Treponema pallidum were evaluated. METHODS Results of the Anti-Treponema-pallidum-ELISA (IgM; Euroimmun), Pathozyme Syphilis M Capture (Omega Diagnostics) and recomWell Treponema IgM (Mikrogen) were compared ...