THE TREPONEMAL COMPLEMENT-FIXATION TESTS IN PROBABLE LATENT SYPHILIS OR BIOLOGIC FALSE POSITIVE REACTIONS

[摘要] An evaluation has been made of the Treponema pallidum complement-fixation (TPCF) test using the Treponema pallidum immobilization (TPI) test as a control. In comparative studies with the two procedures, employing aliquots of serum specimens from 394 cases of possible latent syphilis or biologic false positive reactors, 92% agreement was obtained. The nature of the disagreements indicates that the TPCF test is less sensitive than the TPI test for specimens obtained from the clinical groups described. Under two different experimental conditions, the TPCF test results were reproducible in 93 and 95% of instances of duplicate testing. Reproducibility of results was less satisfactory if aliquots of sera were tested simultaneously with two different antigens than if such aliquots were tested on different days with the same antigen.