Comparative analysis of detection methods of syphilis

Objective To assess the syphilis infection situation,and to evaluate syphilis testing methods and provide an appropriate intervention and laboratory testing strategy.Methods We took rapid plasma reagin(RPR) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA) as the testing methods and positive results were confirmed with treponema pallidum agglutination test(TPPA).Results There were 596 serum samples this year(319 in the first half year and 277 in the rest).Among the 45 TPPA positive samples,16 samples turned out to be positive under the method of RPR with a sensitivity rate of 35.56%.While using ELISA there were 43 positive cases with a sensitivity rate of 95.56%.Among the 21 RPR positive samples,3 were confirmed as negative,with specificity of 99.16%.While among the 46 ELISA positive samples,5 were confirmed negative,with specificity of 99.50%.There was a significant difference between the positive results of RPR and TPPA(P0.05),but not between ELISA and TPPA(P0.05).Conclusion ELISA testing measurement is more advantageous than RPR with its higher sensitivity and better sensitivity,so it can be an ideal measurement method for syphilis detection and important for controlling syphilis by sex.However,a confirmative test should be made to ELISA positive samples by TPPA.