Why syphilis test

Later-stage syphilis is also treated with antibiotics. Antibiotic treatment for later-stage infections can stop the disease from getting worse, but it can't undo damage already done.

Learn more about laboratory tests, reference ranges, and understanding results. If you are diagnosed with syphilis, you need to tell your sexual partner, so he or she can get tested and treated if necessary. The information on this site should not be used as a substitute for professional medical care or advice. Contact a health care provider if you have questions about your health. Syphilis Tests. What are syphilis tests? What are they used for?

Syphilis tests are used to screen for and diagnose syphilis. Screening tests for syphilis include: Rapid plasma reagin RPR , a syphilis blood test that looks for antibodies to the syphilis bacteria. Antibodies are proteins made by the immune system to fight foreign substances, such as bacteria. Venereal disease research laboratory VDRL test, which also checks for syphilis antibodies.

A VDRL test can be done on blood or spinal fluid. Why do I need a syphilis test? Symptoms usually appear about two to three weeks after infection and include: Small, painless sore chancre on the genitals, anus, or mouth Rough, red rash, usually on the palms of the hands or the bottom of the feet Fever Headache Swollen glands Fatigue Weight loss Hair loss Even if you don't have symptoms, you may need a test if you are at a higher risk of infection.

What happens during a syphilis test? During the procedure: You will lie on your side or sit on an exam table. A health care provider will clean your back and inject an anesthetic into your skin, so you won't feel pain during the procedure.

Your provider may put a numbing cream on your back before this injection. Once the area on your back is completely numb, your provider will insert a thin, hollow needle between two vertebrae in your lower spine.

Vertebrae are the small backbones that make up your spine. Your provider will withdraw a small amount of cerebrospinal fluid for testing. This will take about five minutes.

You'll need to stay very still while the fluid is being withdrawn. Your provider may ask you to lie on your back for an hour or two after the procedure. This may prevent you from getting a headache afterward. Will I need to do anything to prepare for the test? Are there any risks to the test? A diagnostic clue is the presence of linear calcifications of the aorta on a chest radiograph. Approximately 11 percent of untreated patients progress to cardiovascular syphilis.

Antibiotic therapy for gummatous and cardiovascular syphilis is the same as that for late latent syphilis, provided no evidence of neurologic involvement is present.

Consensus is lacking on the appropriate follow-up in patients who have tertiary syphilis with no CNS involvement. Clinical response to treatment varies and depends on the type and location of gummatous or cardiovascular lesions. Neurologic involvement occurs in up to 10 percent of patients with untreated syphilis. Lumbar puncture is required to establish the diagnosis of neurosyphilis.

Treponemal-specific testing e. Testing for spirochete DNA via poly-merase chain reaction methods is an evolving technique that may be helpful because it detects organisms, rather than antibodies, in the CSF.

In late neurosyphilis, both vascular lesions meningo-vascular neurosyphilis and neuronal degeneration parenchymatous neurosyphilis are possible. Penicillin is the only drug that has proved effective in the treatment of neurosyphilis. The CDC endorses two regimens. The second regimen consists of penicillin G procaine, in a dosage of 2. Follow-up of patients treated for neurosyphilis depends on the initial CSF findings.

Retreatment should be considered if the CSF white blood cell count does not decline after six months or completely normalize after two years. The CSF also can be reexamined to look for serial decreases in antibodies on the VDRL test or serial decreases in protein levels, although the management of persistent abnormalities is not well established. It is expected that CSF parameters will normalize within two years. Failure to normalize may warrant retreatment.

Most treatment failures occur in immunocompromised patients. Already a member or subscriber? Log in. Interested in AAFP membership? Learn more. Brown received his medical degree from the Uniformed Services University F.

He recently completed a fellowship in sports medicine at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. Before starting his fellowship, Dr. Address correspondence to Jennifer E. Reprints are not available from the authors. The authors indicate that they do not have any conflicts of interest. Sources of funding: none reported. The opinions and assertions contained herein are the private views of the authors and are not to be construed as official or as reflecting the views of the U.

Army Medical Department or the U. Army Service at large. Retrieved January 21, , from www. Laboratory diagnosis and interpretation of tests for syphilis. Clin Microbiol Rev. Comparison of methods for the detection of Treponema pallidum in lesions of early syphilis. Sex Transm Dis. Tramont EC. Treponema pallidum syphilis. Mandell, Douglas, and Bennett's Principles and practice of infectious diseases.

Philadelphia: Churchill Livingstone, — Luger AF. Serological diagnosis of syphilis: current methods. Immunological diagnosis of sexually transmitted diseases. New York: Dekker, —9. Fischbach FT. Syphilis detection tests. Philadelphia: Lippincott, — Novel recombinant-antigen enzyme immunoassay for serological diagnosis of syphilis. J Clin Microbiol. Evaluation of the fluorescent treponemal antibody-absorption FTA-Abs test specificity.

Acta Derm Venereol. Sexually transmitted diseases treatment guidelines Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Serologic response to treatment of infectious syphilis. Ann Intern Med. Fitzpatrick TB, et al. Color atlas and synopsis of clinical dermatology: common and serious diseases. New York: McGraw-Hill, — A guide to physical examination and history taking. Philadelphia: Lippincott, Clark EG, Danbolt N.

The Oslo study of the natural course of untreated syphilis. Med Clin North Am. Syphilis management and treatment. Dermatol Clin. Detection of Treponema pallidum by a sensitive reverse transcriptase PCR. This content is owned by the AAFP. You may feel some discomfort when fluid is collected from an open sore. But syphilis sores usually are not very tender or painful.

You may feel some discomfort during a lumbar puncture to collect spinal fluid. There is very little chance of a problem from having a blood sample taken from your fingertip or a vein. There is very little risk of problems from having a sample taken from an open sore, skin rash, or mucous membrane. There is little risk linked with having a lumbar puncture to obtain a spinal fluid sample.

Syphilis tests tell if a person has the disease. A reactive or positive test result does not always mean that you have syphilis. Other conditions can cause positive test results. These include injecting illegal drugs, recent vaccinations, endocarditis, and autoimmune diseases. The accuracy of testing often depends on the stage of syphilis. Testing may need to be repeated if:. Kiley MD - Obstetrics and Gynecology. Author: Healthwise Staff. This information does not replace the advice of a doctor.

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Healthwise, Healthwise for every health decision, and the Healthwise logo are trademarks of Healthwise, Incorporated. Updated visitor guidelines. You are here Home » Syphilis Tests. Top of the page. Test Overview Syphilis tests tell if a person has this disease. Testing is done on blood, body fluid, or tissue samples. The VDRL test checks blood or spinal fluid for an antibody that can be produced in people who have syphilis.

This antibody is not produced as a reaction to syphilis specifically, so the test result could be "abnormal" for reasons other than syphilis. Rapid plasma reagin RPR test. The RPR test also finds syphilis antibodies. Rapid immunochromatographic test. This test checks for antibodies that are specific to syphilis.

Unlike other tests, the blood sample is not sent to a laboratory. You can find out the results at your doctor visit. Tests to confirm syphilis Tests used to confirm a syphilis infection include: Enzyme immunoassay EIA test. This blood test checks for syphilis antibodies.

This test also checks for antibodies. It can be used to find syphilis except during the first 3 to 4 weeks after exposure. The test can be done on a sample of blood or spinal fluid. Treponema pallidum particle agglutination assay TPPA. It is used after another method tests positive for syphilis.

This test is not done on spinal fluid. Darkfield microscopy. This test uses a special microscope to look for the syphilis germ in a sample of fluid or tissue from an open sore.

This test is used mainly to diagnose syphilis in an early stage. The MHA-TP is used to confirm a syphilis infection after another test shows positive results for syphilis. Why It Is Done A syphilis infection can spread through the bloodstream to all parts of the body. A test for syphilis is done to: Screen for syphilis or check how well treatment is working. Screening tests help your doctor look for a certain disease or condition before any symptoms appear.

This increases the chance of finding the infection when it can be cured or treated to avoid long-term problems.