Table 2.
Types of syphilis tests among various laboratories.a
| Type of laboratory | Region | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type of test | All (n = 69) | National/Regional (n = 36) | Lower-level (n = 33) | North (n = 2) | Central (n = 22) | Caribbean (n = 15) | Andean (n = 16) | Southern Cone (n = 14) |
| Non-treponemal test (n = 64)b | ||||||||
| RPR only | 25 (39) | 15 (46) | 10 (32) | 1 (50) | 8 (44) | 9 (60) | 7 (47) | 0 (0) |
| VDRL only | 20 (31) | 10 (30) | 10 (32) | 0 (0) | 7 (39) | 2 (13) | 2 (13) | 9 (64) |
| Both | 14 (22) | 4 (12) | 10 (32) | 0 (0) | 29 (11) | 3 (20) | 5 (33) | 4 (29) |
| None | 4 (6) | 3 (9) | 1 (4) | 1 (50) | 0 (0) | 1 (7) | 1 (7) | 1 (7) |
| Otherc | 1 (2) | 1 (3) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 1 (6) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) |
| Laboratory-based treponemal test (n = 69) | ||||||||
| FTA-ABS only | 11 (16) | 5 (14) | 6 (18) | 0 (0) | 4 (18) | 1 (6) | 3 (19) | 3 (22) |
| TPPA only | 5 (7) | 4 (11) | 1 (3) | 0 (0) | 1 (5) | 3 (18) | 1 (6) | 0 (0) |
| TPHA only | 2 (3) | 0 (0) | 2 (6) | 0 (0) | 1 (5) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 1 (7) |
| EIA only | 3 (4) | 0 (0) | 3 (9) | 0 (0) | 1 (5) | 1 (6) | 0 (0) | 1 (7) |
| CIA only | 1 (1) | 0 (0) | 1 (3) | 0 (0) | 1 (5) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) |
| None | 22 (32) | 9 (25) | 13 (39) | 0 (0) | 10 (44) | 6 (42) | 5 (30) | 1 (7) |
| Multiple treponemal tests | 25 (36) | 18 (50) | 7 (22) | 2 (100) | 4 (18) | 4 (28) | 7 (45) | 8 (57) |
| Rapid treponemal test (n =54) | ||||||||
| Overall | ||||||||
| Yes | 28 (41) | 16 (44) | 12 (36) | 1 (50) | 9 (41) | 2 (13) | 8 (50) | 8 (57) |
| No | 41 (49) | 20 (56) | 21 (64) | 1 (50) | 13 (49) | 13 (87) | 8 (50) | 6 (43) |
| ANC settings | ||||||||
| Yes | 25 (36) | 13 (36) | 12 (36) | 0 (0) | 9 (41) | 2 (13) | 7 (44) | 7 (50) |
| No | 29 (64) | 23 (64) | 21 (64) | 2 (100) | 13 (59) | 13 (87) | 9 (56) | 7 (50) |
Abbreviations: ANC, antenatal care; CIA, chemiluminescence immunoassays; EIA, enzyme immunoassay; FTA-ABS, fluorescent treponemal antibody absorption; RPR, rapid plasma reagin; TPHA, Treponema pallidum hemagglutination; TPPA, Treponema pallidum particle agglutination assay; VDRL, venereal disease research laboratory.
a
Values are given as number (percentage).
b
Missing = 5.
c
One laboratory reported using Unheated Serum Reagent.