False-negative syphilis treponemal enzyme immunoassay results in an HIV-infected case-patient

Alan R Katz; Alan Y Komeya; Juval E Tomas

doi:10.1177/0956462416684426

False-negative syphilis treponemal enzyme immunoassay results in an HIV-infected case-patient

Int J STD AIDS. 2017 Jun;28(7):735-737. doi: 10.1177/0956462416684426. Epub 2016 Dec 12.

Authors

Alan R Katz^{1

2}, Alan Y Komeya², Juval E Tomas²

Affiliations

¹ 1 Office of Public Health Studies, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI, USA.
² 2 Diamond Head STD Clinic, Hawaii Department of Health, Honolulu, HI, USA.

PMID: 27956647
DOI: 10.1177/0956462416684426

Abstract

We present a case report of a false-negative syphilis treponemal enzyme immunoassay test result in an HIV-infected male. While treponemal tests are widely considered to be more sensitive and specific than non-treponemal tests, our findings point to potential challenges using the reverse sequence syphilis screening algorithm.

Keywords: HIV-infection; Syphilis; false-negative test results.

Publication types

Case Reports

MeSH terms

Adult
Anti-Bacterial Agents / therapeutic use*
False Positive Reactions
HIV Infections / complications*
Humans
Immunoenzyme Techniques / methods
Injections, Intramuscular
Male
Syphilis / complications
Syphilis / diagnosis*
Syphilis / drug therapy
Syphilis Serodiagnosis / methods
Treatment Outcome

Substances

Anti-Bacterial Agents