-transparent.png){kind=logo}
In 1984 the reporting system for the fluorescent treponemal antibody-absorption (FTA-Abs) test was changed by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC; Atlanta, GA) to eliminate the borderline report. Factors influencing the reliability of the FTA-Abs test results, i.e., sensitivity, specificity, prevalence of syphilis, prescreening of sera with nontreponemal tests, and reproducibility, were considered before the change in the reporting system was recommended and are reported here. The borderline report, when associated with syphilis, was most frequently also associated with the diagnosis of early primary, dark-field-positive, nontreponemal test-nonreactive syphilis. Whereas elimination of the borderline report decreased the sensitivity of the FTA-Abs test as a confirmatory test from 100% to 99.5%, the specificity increased from 82.5% to 88.7%. The 1+ staining intensity had an association of approximately 5% with the diagnosis of syphilis. The changes in the reporting system were designed to assist the clinician in interpreting the results of the FTA-Abs test in those cases that present diagnostic dilemmas.
S A Larsen, and
C E Farshy, and
B J Pender, and
M R Adams, and
D E Pettit, and
E A Hambie
November 1966,
JAMA,
S A Larsen, and
C E Farshy, and
B J Pender, and
M R Adams, and
D E Pettit, and
E A Hambie
January 1975,
CRC critical reviews in clinical laboratory sciences,
S A Larsen, and
C E Farshy, and
B J Pender, and
M R Adams, and
D E Pettit, and
E A Hambie
April 1982,
International journal of dermatology,
S A Larsen, and
C E Farshy, and
B J Pender, and
M R Adams, and
D E Pettit, and
E A Hambie
April 1979,
The British journal of venereal diseases,
S A Larsen, and
C E Farshy, and
B J Pender, and
M R Adams, and
D E Pettit, and
E A Hambie
August 1970,
The British journal of venereal diseases,
S A Larsen, and
C E Farshy, and
B J Pender, and
M R Adams, and
D E Pettit, and
E A Hambie
January 1969,
Acta dermato-venereologica,
S A Larsen, and
C E Farshy, and
B J Pender, and
M R Adams, and
D E Pettit, and
E A Hambie
January 1968,
Health laboratory science,
S A Larsen, and
C E Farshy, and
B J Pender, and
M R Adams, and
D E Pettit, and
E A Hambie
July 1969,
Rinsho byori. The Japanese journal of clinical pathology,
S A Larsen, and
C E Farshy, and
B J Pender, and
M R Adams, and
D E Pettit, and
E A Hambie
January 1991,
Acta dermato-venereologica,
S A Larsen, and
C E Farshy, and
B J Pender, and
M R Adams, and
D E Pettit, and
E A Hambie
March 1967,
American journal of clinical pathology,
