Comparison between the automated reagin test and reagin screen test methods of VDRL screening tests for syphilis in use in a routine laboratory.

Abstract

Criteria for tests to be used in a routine laboratory screen for the detection of serum antibodies against Treponema pallidum include: sensitivity, reproducibility, moderate cost, and sufficiently good design to minimise operating error without producing boredom in the technical staff carrying out the test.In the laboratory attached to the James Pringle House Clinic of The Middlesex Hospital, two screening tests are currently used to examine approximately 500 sera each week for the presence of syphilitic antibodies. These tests are the Treponema pallidum haemagglutination (TPHA) test (Rathlev, 1967)