Table 2 Characteristics of patients with serological failure among HIV‐positive and HIV‐negative patients.

	HIV positive (n = 22/129)	HIV negative (n = 5/168)	p Value
Failures by syphilis stage, n (%)
Early	4/32 (12.5)	4/154 (2.6)	0.01*
Late or unknown duration	18/97 (18.6)	1/14 (7.1)	0.3*
Failure of fourfold drop, n (%)	12/22 (55)	3/5 (60)	NS*
Early	1/4 (25)	2/4 (50)	NS*
Late or unknown duration	11/18 (61)	1/1 (100)	NS*
Median initial RPR titre	1/8	1/8	NS‡
Initial documented fourfold drop with subsequent fourfold increase (%)	0 (0)	0 (0)	NS*
Fourfold increase without drop (%)	10/22 (45)	2/5 (40)	NS*
Early	3/4 (75)	2/4 (50)	NS*
Late or unknown	7/18 (39)	0/1 (0)	NS*
Median initial RPR titre	1/64	1/32	NS†

*χ² test.

†K equality of medians test.

RPR, rapid plasma reagin; NS, not significant (p>0.05).