TY - JOUR
T1 - Association of Biologic False-Positive Reactions for Syphilis with Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection
AU - Rompalo, Anne M.
AU - Cannon, Robert O.
AU - Quinn, Thomas C.
AU - Hook, Edward W.
N1 - Funding Information:
Received 5 November 1991: revised 27 January 1992. Informed consent was obtained from all patients. and human experimentation guidelines required by the Johns Hopkins institutional review board were followed. Grant support: National Institutes of Health (AI-27727). Reprints or correspondence: Anne M. Rompalo, Johns Hopkins Hospital. Infectious Diseases. Blalock 1111.600 N. Wolfe St., Baltimore. MD
PY - 1992/6
Y1 - 1992/6
N2 - The prevalence of biologic false-positive (BFP) reactions for syphilis (reactive rapid plasma reagin [RPR] test, nonreactive fluorescent treponemal antibody absorption [FTA-ABS] test) among patients attending two sexually transmitted disease (STD) clinics was evaluated to assess relationships between BFP reactions and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. Among 4863 patients, 357 (7.3%) had serologic evidence of syphilis and 4.9% had HIV infection. Only 40 patients (0.8% of total patients, 11% of those with reactive RPR tests) had BFP serologic tests for syphilis. There were no demographic differences between true syphilis and BFP patients as to sex, age, or intravenous drug use. BFP patients tended to have lower RPR titers (≤1:4) than did true syphilis patients. After excluding 317 patients with reactive FTA-ABS tests, BFP RPR tests were seen in 6 (4%) of 159 HIV-seropositive patients and 34 (0.8%) of 4387 HIV-seronegative patients (odds ratio, 5.0; 95% confidence interval, 1.9-12.7). Although more common among HIV-infected than HIV-uninfected patients, BFP reactions are relatively rare among STD clinic patients, and 89% of patients with reactive RPR or VDRL serologic tests for syphilis had current or prior syphilis infection. The RPR test remains useful for guiding decisions regarding therapy for syphilis.
AB - The prevalence of biologic false-positive (BFP) reactions for syphilis (reactive rapid plasma reagin [RPR] test, nonreactive fluorescent treponemal antibody absorption [FTA-ABS] test) among patients attending two sexually transmitted disease (STD) clinics was evaluated to assess relationships between BFP reactions and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. Among 4863 patients, 357 (7.3%) had serologic evidence of syphilis and 4.9% had HIV infection. Only 40 patients (0.8% of total patients, 11% of those with reactive RPR tests) had BFP serologic tests for syphilis. There were no demographic differences between true syphilis and BFP patients as to sex, age, or intravenous drug use. BFP patients tended to have lower RPR titers (≤1:4) than did true syphilis patients. After excluding 317 patients with reactive FTA-ABS tests, BFP RPR tests were seen in 6 (4%) of 159 HIV-seropositive patients and 34 (0.8%) of 4387 HIV-seronegative patients (odds ratio, 5.0; 95% confidence interval, 1.9-12.7). Although more common among HIV-infected than HIV-uninfected patients, BFP reactions are relatively rare among STD clinic patients, and 89% of patients with reactive RPR or VDRL serologic tests for syphilis had current or prior syphilis infection. The RPR test remains useful for guiding decisions regarding therapy for syphilis.
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U2 - 10.1093/infdis/165.6.1124
DO - 10.1093/infdis/165.6.1124
M3 - Article
C2 - 1583332
AN - SCOPUS:0026596517
SN - 0022-1899
VL - 165
SP - 1124
EP - 1126
JO - Journal of Infectious Diseases
JF - Journal of Infectious Diseases
IS - 6
ER -