Biomaterial Database

Evaluation of the rapid plasma reagin "teardrop" card test for screening of syphilis in field conditions. 1993

E Van Dyck, and L Van de Velden, and I Ndoye, and P Piot, and A Meheus

Department of Infection and Immunity, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium.

OBJECTIVE The availability of simple diagnostic methods may contribute to more efficient control of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) in developing countries. For the detection of syphilis, a simple rapid plasma reagin (RPR) "teardrop" assay for finger-prick blood samples was developed in 1962. The reliability of this test is compared with RPR, Treponema pallidum hemagglutination assay (TPHA), and fluorescent treponemal antibody absorption (FTA-Abs) assays performed on venous blood samples. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the potential usefulness of the finger-stick RPR teardrop assay for diagnosis of syphilis in settings with poor medical resources. METHODS Pregnant women evaluated at two health centers in Pikine, Senegal were tested for STDs. The RPR teardrop assay was performed on plasma from blood samples obtained by finger prick, and standard RPR, TPHA, and FTA-Abs procedures were performed on serum obtained by vein puncture. RESULTS The sensitivity and specificity of the finger-prick RPR teardrop assay were 69.7% and 96.5%, respectively, and its reactivity was correlated with RPR serum antibody titer. CONCLUSIONS The finger-prick RPR teardrop assay is not a reliable alternative to the classic serum RPR test.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D011247	Pregnancy	The status during which female mammals carry their developing young (EMBRYOS or FETUSES) in utero before birth, beginning from FERTILIZATION to BIRTH.	Gestation,Pregnancies
D011251	Pregnancy Complications, Infectious	The co-occurrence of pregnancy and an INFECTION. The infection may precede or follow FERTILIZATION.	Complications, Infectious Pregnancy,Infectious Pregnancy Complications,Maternal Sepsis,Pregnancy, Infectious Complications,Sepsis during Pregnancy,Sepsis in Pregnancy,Infectious Pregnancy Complication,Pregnancy Complication, Infectious,Sepsis in Pregnancies,Sepsis, Maternal
D011933	Reagent Kits, Diagnostic	Commercially prepared reagent sets, with accessory devices, containing all of the major components and literature necessary to perform one or more designated diagnostic tests or procedures. They may be for laboratory or personal use.	Diagnostic Reagent Kits,Diagnostic Reagents and Test Kits,Diagnostic Test Kits,In Vitro Diagnostic Device,In Vitro Diagnostic Devices,In Vitro Diagnostic Medical Device,In Vitro Diagnostic Medical Devices,Kits, Diagnostic Reagent,Diagnostic Reagent Kit,Diagnostic Test Kit,Kit, Diagnostic Reagent,Kit, Diagnostic Test,Kits, Diagnostic Test,Reagent Kit, Diagnostic,Test Kit, Diagnostic,Test Kits, Diagnostic
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
D005069	Evaluation Studies as Topic	Works about studies that determine the effectiveness or value of processes, personnel, and equipment, or the material on conducting such studies.	Critique,Evaluation Indexes,Evaluation Methodology,Evaluation Report,Evaluation Research,Methodology, Evaluation,Pre-Post Tests,Qualitative Evaluation,Quantitative Evaluation,Theoretical Effectiveness,Use-Effectiveness,Critiques,Effectiveness, Theoretical,Evaluation Methodologies,Evaluation Reports,Evaluation, Qualitative,Evaluation, Quantitative,Evaluations, Qualitative,Evaluations, Quantitative,Indexes, Evaluation,Methodologies, Evaluation,Pre Post Tests,Pre-Post Test,Qualitative Evaluations,Quantitative Evaluations,Report, Evaluation,Reports, Evaluation,Research, Evaluation,Test, Pre-Post,Tests, Pre-Post,Use Effectiveness
D005260	Female		Females
D005455	Fluorescent Antibody Technique	Test for tissue antigen using either a direct method, by conjugation of antibody with fluorescent dye (FLUORESCENT ANTIBODY TECHNIQUE, DIRECT) or an indirect method, by formation of antigen-antibody complex which is then labeled with fluorescein-conjugated anti-immunoglobulin antibody (FLUORESCENT ANTIBODY TECHNIQUE, INDIRECT). The tissue is then examined by fluorescence microscopy.	Antinuclear Antibody Test, Fluorescent,Coon's Technique,Fluorescent Antinuclear Antibody Test,Fluorescent Protein Tracing,Immunofluorescence Technique,Coon's Technic,Fluorescent Antibody Technic,Immunofluorescence,Immunofluorescence Technic,Antibody Technic, Fluorescent,Antibody Technics, Fluorescent,Antibody Technique, Fluorescent,Antibody Techniques, Fluorescent,Coon Technic,Coon Technique,Coons Technic,Coons Technique,Fluorescent Antibody Technics,Fluorescent Antibody Techniques,Fluorescent Protein Tracings,Immunofluorescence Technics,Immunofluorescence Techniques,Protein Tracing, Fluorescent,Protein Tracings, Fluorescent,Technic, Coon's,Technic, Fluorescent Antibody,Technic, Immunofluorescence,Technics, Fluorescent Antibody,Technics, Immunofluorescence,Technique, Coon's,Technique, Fluorescent Antibody,Technique, Immunofluorescence,Techniques, Fluorescent Antibody,Techniques, Immunofluorescence,Tracing, Fluorescent Protein,Tracings, Fluorescent Protein
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
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D012680	Sensitivity and Specificity	Binary classification measures to assess test results. Sensitivity or recall rate is the proportion of true positives. Specificity is the probability of correctly determining the absence of a condition. (From Last, Dictionary of Epidemiology, 2d ed)	Specificity,Sensitivity,Specificity and Sensitivity