Abstract

"Purpose: To evaluate the practical variations in the diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up in the patients with syphilis. Materials and methods: A total of 659 patients with syphilis between 2002 to 2007 were retrospectively analyzed. Clinical data of gender, nontreponemal/treponemal test (rapid plasma reagin; RPR, Treponema pallidum haemagglutination assay; TPHA, Treponema pallidum latex agglutination; TPLA, fluorescent treponemal antibody absorption; FTA-ABS), presence of HIV, follow-up after treatment were collected. Results: The 107 patients (16.2%) with RPR negative were TPHA positive. The false positive rate of RPR was 7.1%. There was a different result between TPHA/TPLA and FTA-ABS in 7 patients. In the 185 patients who had follow-up RPR test after treatment with Benzathin penicillin RPR was converted into negative in 54 patients (29.1%). AIDS was diagnosed in 4 patients. Conclusions: This results indicate that the clinical practice in management for patients with syphilis is different in each doctors. The development of guideline for syphilis is needed to provide reasonable common management in diagnosis, treatment and follow-up of various patients with syphilis."

• Keywords: Syphilis, Serodiagnosis, Guideline