Italian national survey of blood donors: external quality assessment (EQA) of syphilis testing. 2010

Francesca Vulcano, and Luisa Milazzo, and Sabrina Volpi, and Mara Maria Battista, and Alessandra Barca, and Hamisa Jane Hassan, and Fulvia Pimpinelli, and Adele Giampaolo
Section of Transfusion Methodologies, Department of Hematology, Oncology, and Molecular Medicine, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy.

The detection of syphilis among blood donors may reveal high-risk sexual behavior, which can go unreported at the time of donor selection and compromise the safety of the donated blood. In Italy, blood is collected, tested, and distributed by transfusion services (TSs), which also perform outpatient transfusions. Although the TSs must screen for syphilis by law, there are no indications of the specific type of method to be used, generating discrepancies in the results obtained by the different TSs. To determine the proficiency of the TSs in screening for syphilis, we performed an external quality assessment (EQA). The EQA was based on two shipments of serum panels; 133 and 118 of the 326 existing TSs participated in the first and second shipments, respectively. Each panel consisted of both positive and negative serum samples. The results confirmed that the use of a single nontreponemal test (the Venereal Disease Research Laboratory [VDRL] and the rapid plasma reagin [RPR] tests) is the least sensitive means of identifying samples that are positive for syphilis antibodies. We also found that the interpretation of the results of manual techniques, such as the RPR test, the VDRL test, the Treponema pallidum hemagglutination (TPHA) assay, and the T. pallidum particle agglutination (TPPA) assay, can vary greatly among different TSs and operators. Total Ig enzyme immunoassays (EIAs) are the most sensitive. However, the determination of syphilis on the basis of the results of a single test is not sufficient for an accurate screening; and all blood units should thus be assessed by two distinct treponemal tests, that is, a total Ig EIA and the TPHA or the TPPA assay.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D007074 Immunoglobulin G The major immunoglobulin isotype class in normal human serum. There are several isotype subclasses of IgG, for example, IgG1, IgG2A, and IgG2B. Gamma Globulin, 7S,IgG,IgG Antibody,Allerglobuline,IgG(T),IgG1,IgG2,IgG2A,IgG2B,IgG3,IgG4,Immunoglobulin GT,Polyglobin,7S Gamma Globulin,Antibody, IgG,GT, Immunoglobulin
D007124 Immunoenzyme Techniques Immunologic techniques based on the use of: (1) enzyme-antibody conjugates; (2) enzyme-antigen conjugates; (3) antienzyme antibody followed by its homologous enzyme; or (4) enzyme-antienzyme complexes. These are used histologically for visualizing or labeling tissue specimens. Antibody Enzyme Technique, Unlabeled,Enzyme Immunoassay,Enzyme-Labeled Antibody Technique,Immunoassay, Enzyme,Immunoperoxidase Techniques,Peroxidase-Antiperoxidase Complex Technique,Peroxidase-Labeled Antibody Technique,Antibody Enzyme Technic, Unlabeled,Enzyme-Labeled Antibody Technic,Immunoenzyme Technics,Immunoperoxidase Technics,Peroxidase-Antiperoxidase Complex Technic,Peroxidase-Labeled Antibody Technic,Antibody Technic, Enzyme-Labeled,Antibody Technic, Peroxidase-Labeled,Antibody Technics, Enzyme-Labeled,Antibody Technics, Peroxidase-Labeled,Antibody Technique, Enzyme-Labeled,Antibody Technique, Peroxidase-Labeled,Antibody Techniques, Enzyme-Labeled,Antibody Techniques, Peroxidase-Labeled,Enzyme Immunoassays,Enzyme Labeled Antibody Technic,Enzyme Labeled Antibody Technique,Enzyme-Labeled Antibody Technics,Enzyme-Labeled Antibody Techniques,Immunoassays, Enzyme,Immunoenzyme Technic,Immunoenzyme Technique,Immunoperoxidase Technic,Immunoperoxidase Technique,Peroxidase Antiperoxidase Complex Technic,Peroxidase Antiperoxidase Complex Technique,Peroxidase Labeled Antibody Technic,Peroxidase Labeled Antibody Technique,Peroxidase-Antiperoxidase Complex Technics,Peroxidase-Antiperoxidase Complex Techniques,Peroxidase-Labeled Antibody Technics,Peroxidase-Labeled Antibody Techniques,Technic, Enzyme-Labeled Antibody,Technic, Immunoenzyme,Technic, Immunoperoxidase,Technic, Peroxidase-Antiperoxidase Complex,Technic, Peroxidase-Labeled Antibody,Technics, Enzyme-Labeled Antibody,Technics, Immunoenzyme,Technics, Immunoperoxidase,Technics, Peroxidase-Antiperoxidase Complex,Technics, Peroxidase-Labeled Antibody,Technique, Enzyme-Labeled Antibody,Technique, Immunoenzyme,Technique, Immunoperoxidase,Technique, Peroxidase-Antiperoxidase Complex,Technique, Peroxidase-Labeled Antibody,Techniques, Enzyme-Labeled Antibody,Techniques, Immunoenzyme,Techniques, Immunoperoxidase,Techniques, Peroxidase-Antiperoxidase Complex,Techniques, Peroxidase-Labeled Antibody
D007558 Italy A country in southern Europe, a peninsula extending into the central Mediterranean Sea, northeast of Tunisia. The capital is Rome. Sardinia
D010713 Phosphatidylcholines Derivatives of PHOSPHATIDIC ACIDS in which the phosphoric acid is bound in ester linkage to a CHOLINE moiety. Choline Phosphoglycerides,Choline Glycerophospholipids,Phosphatidyl Choline,Phosphatidyl Cholines,Phosphatidylcholine,Choline, Phosphatidyl,Cholines, Phosphatidyl,Glycerophospholipids, Choline,Phosphoglycerides, Choline
D011935 Reagins Antibodies, especially IGE, that bind to tissue of the same species so that ANTIGENS induce HISTAMINE RELEASE and other vasoactive agents. HYPERSENSITIVITY is the clinical manifestation. Homocytotropic Antibodies,Reagin
D001782 Blood Donors Individuals supplying blood or blood components for transfer to histocompatible recipients. Blood Donor,Donor, Blood,Donors, Blood
D002308 Cardiolipins Acidic phospholipids composed of two molecules of phosphatidic acid covalently linked to a molecule of glycerol. They occur primarily in mitochondrial inner membranes and in bacterial plasma membranes. They are the main antigenic components of the Wassermann-type antigen that is used in nontreponemal SYPHILIS SERODIAGNOSIS. Cardiolipin,Diphosphatidylglycerol,Diphosphatidylglycerols
D002784 Cholesterol The principal sterol of all higher animals, distributed in body tissues, especially the brain and spinal cord, and in animal fats and oils. Epicholesterol
D006302 Health Services Research The integration of epidemiologic, sociological, economic, and other analytic sciences in the study of health services. Health services research is usually concerned with relationships between need, demand, supply, use, and outcome of health services. The aim of the research is evaluation, particularly in terms of structure, process, output, and outcome. (From Last, Dictionary of Epidemiology, 2d ed) Health Care Research,Medical Care Research,Research, Health Services,Action Research,Health Services Evaluation,Healthcare Research,Research, Medical Care,Evaluation, Health Services,Evaluations, Health Services,Health Services Evaluations,Research, Action,Research, Health Care,Research, Healthcare
D006386 Hemagglutination Tests Sensitive tests to measure certain antigens, antibodies, or viruses, using their ability to agglutinate certain erythrocytes. (From Stedman, 26th ed) Hemagglutination Test,Test, Hemagglutination,Tests, Hemagglutination

Related Publications

Francesca Vulcano, and Luisa Milazzo, and Sabrina Volpi, and Mara Maria Battista, and Alessandra Barca, and Hamisa Jane Hassan, and Fulvia Pimpinelli, and Adele Giampaolo
June 2010, Clinica chimica acta; international journal of clinical chemistry,
Francesca Vulcano, and Luisa Milazzo, and Sabrina Volpi, and Mara Maria Battista, and Alessandra Barca, and Hamisa Jane Hassan, and Fulvia Pimpinelli, and Adele Giampaolo
July 2022, Haemophilia : the official journal of the World Federation of Hemophilia,
Francesca Vulcano, and Luisa Milazzo, and Sabrina Volpi, and Mara Maria Battista, and Alessandra Barca, and Hamisa Jane Hassan, and Fulvia Pimpinelli, and Adele Giampaolo
May 2010, Thrombosis and haemostasis,
Francesca Vulcano, and Luisa Milazzo, and Sabrina Volpi, and Mara Maria Battista, and Alessandra Barca, and Hamisa Jane Hassan, and Fulvia Pimpinelli, and Adele Giampaolo
November 2015, Clinical chemistry and laboratory medicine,
Francesca Vulcano, and Luisa Milazzo, and Sabrina Volpi, and Mara Maria Battista, and Alessandra Barca, and Hamisa Jane Hassan, and Fulvia Pimpinelli, and Adele Giampaolo
July 1971, The Medical journal of Australia,
Francesca Vulcano, and Luisa Milazzo, and Sabrina Volpi, and Mara Maria Battista, and Alessandra Barca, and Hamisa Jane Hassan, and Fulvia Pimpinelli, and Adele Giampaolo
June 1971, The Medical journal of Australia,
Francesca Vulcano, and Luisa Milazzo, and Sabrina Volpi, and Mara Maria Battista, and Alessandra Barca, and Hamisa Jane Hassan, and Fulvia Pimpinelli, and Adele Giampaolo
April 1996, Cytopathology : official journal of the British Society for Clinical Cytology,
Francesca Vulcano, and Luisa Milazzo, and Sabrina Volpi, and Mara Maria Battista, and Alessandra Barca, and Hamisa Jane Hassan, and Fulvia Pimpinelli, and Adele Giampaolo
July 2020, BMC infectious diseases,
Francesca Vulcano, and Luisa Milazzo, and Sabrina Volpi, and Mara Maria Battista, and Alessandra Barca, and Hamisa Jane Hassan, and Fulvia Pimpinelli, and Adele Giampaolo
January 2017, Journal of clinical pathology,
Francesca Vulcano, and Luisa Milazzo, and Sabrina Volpi, and Mara Maria Battista, and Alessandra Barca, and Hamisa Jane Hassan, and Fulvia Pimpinelli, and Adele Giampaolo
May 2020, Clinical chemistry and laboratory medicine,
Copied contents to your clipboard!