Is systematic syphilis serology still useful in a department of internal medicine? A one-year prospective study using a diagnostic and therapeutic decision algorithm
Brion, N.; Joly, V.; Champetier de Ribes, D.; Meier, F.; Courtois, F.; Carbon, C.
Presse Medicale 15(37): 1851-1854
1986
ISSN/ISBN: 0755-4982 PMID: 2947178 Document Number: 281409
During one year syphilis serology was systematically studied, using the TPHA and VDRL tests, in each of the 1,279 patients hospitalized in an Internal Medicine department. In all cases diagnosis and treatment were analyzed by means of a decision algorithm. Only 37 patients were found to have one or both serological tests positive. No evolutive syphilis was observed, and none of these positive tests was contributive to the diagnosis of another disease. Only 14 patients received a specific antibiotic treatment on the grounds that their positive test confirmed a late asymptomatic syphilis. We conclude that systematic syphilis serological tests are not useful in an Internal Medicine department, except in some patients epidemiologically at high risk of syphilis.