Benefit of molecular and serological tests for the diagnosis of primary syphilis of up to three weeks' duration
Keywords:
syphilis; Treponema pallidum; real-time polymerase chain reaction; serology.Abstract
Introduction: Treponema pallidum infection is primarily diagnosed via serological tests; however, these exhibit low sensitivity during the early stages of the disease, whereas the polymerase chain reaction test proves both sensitive and specific during this period.
Objective: To describe molecular and serological positivity in clinical samples from patients with early primary syphilis.
Methods: Results from treponemal and non-treponemal serological tests were compared with those from real-time polymerase chain reaction testing for the detection of Treponema pallidum in serum and exudates from ulcerative lesions of up to three weeks' duration, in 33 Cuban patients with suspected primary syphilis.
Results: Fifty-seven-point six percent (57.6% (19/33)) of the study patients had syphilis confirmed by serological tests or real-time polymerase chain reaction. The concordance between these assays was low (69.7%, 23/33).
Conclusions: Real-time polymerase chain reaction and serological tests are applicable tools for detecting early primary syphilis, although a positive result in both is not required.
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