Syphilis RPR test: What you need to know

The RPR syphilis test is a method of checking your risk for syphilis. This method absolutely does not hurt or affect the patient's health.

The Rapid Plasma Reagin (RPR) test for syphilis is one of the test methods to check the risk of syphilis in patients. The mechanism of this test is understood as follows: When infected with syphilis, as a natural response, the patient's body will produce antibodies that are effective against the invasion and development of syphilis. syphilis.
In addition, the syphilis RPR test can also be used to identify spirochetes of syphilis in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) or in the amniotic fluid (amniotic fluid RPR) in patients with syphilis. pregnant women.

The RPR syphilis test is only one method of checking for syphilis risk. Therefore, this method absolutely does not hurt or affect the patient's health.
The RPR test sample is usually a simple blood sample called a vein. When a patient with syphilis has a blood test, a sample will be taken. RPR testing is done in hospitals or laboratories.
Patients need to sit in a comfortable position, sitting on a bed, chair,... depending on the place of testing. The doctor will find your veins by tying a rubber tube around your arm. Then proceed to take the vein and draw blood from the vein according to the prescribed amount.
After taking the blood sample, it will be sent to the laboratory and stored in accordance with regulations. Medical staff will begin to conduct the necessary tests.
The doctor will rely on the test results and clinical examination steps to make a conclusion about the disease. Depending on the results of the disease, the patient will be prescribed the appropriate treatment for syphilis.
The RPR test usually given intravenously is minimally invasive and has very few risks. You may feel pain, bleeding, or bruising after the test. In some cases, there may be a ruptured or dislocated vein that needs to be repaired several times.

If the RPR syphilis test result is negative (-), then you do not have syphilis, if the RPR test is positive (+), then you probably have syphilis.
However, the RPR test for diagnosing syphilis in men or women is not always accurate because the body does not always produce antibodies that specifically respond to the syphilis bacteria. People with early-stage syphilis may have a negative RPR.
Besides, there are many cases of rpr test giving false positive results. The cause is due to a disorder of the body's natural immune system, cancer, age or pregnancy. Therefore, if the RPR is positive, the person should have a few more syphilis tests.
So when syphilis is suspected, what tests should be done besides RPR test? Accordingly, there are a number of tests that are often prescribed by doctors to do extra work, which are:
3.1 Screening for syphilis spirochetes on a black background microscope This method gives quick results; Diagnose immediately if Treponema pallidum is found. However, this method can also confuse Treponema pallidum with other spirochetes of the same Treponema family and the possibility of false negatives is high due to incorrect sampling. 3.2 Serological testing Non-specific syphilis antibody testing: Method used to monitor treatment and assess reinfection status. However, in some patients with late stage syphilis, serum levels do not subside within 1 year and the specificity of the test is low. Because the test for syphilis antibodies is not specific, the likelihood of false negatives and false positives is high. Syphilis-specific antibody testing: The test can be used to diagnose any stage of syphilis; Very low false positive rate used to confirm suspected cases of syphilis. This method is not used to monitor treatment and does not assess reinfection because if a patient has syphilis, the test can be positive for life. MORE:
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