PCR detection in diagnosis of early syphilis: a preliminary result from China

• Published in: Sexually transmitted infections Vol. 89; no. 3; p. 230
• Main Authors: Peng, Rui-Rui, Yin, Yue-Ping, Wei, Wan-Hui, Wang, Hong-Chun, Zhang, Jin-Ping, Chen, Xiang-Sheng
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BMJ Publishing Group Ltd 01.05.2013; BMJ Publishing Group LTD
• Subjects: Bacteriological Techniques - methods; Diagnosis; Dna; Humans; Molecular Diagnostic Techniques - methods; Performance evaluation; Polymerase Chain Reaction - methods; Syphilis; Syphilis - diagnosis; Treponema pallidum - isolation & purification; China
• ISSN: 1368-4973; 1472-3263; 1472-3263
• DOI: 10.1136/sextrans-2012-050894

Recently, Gayet-Ageron and colleagues published a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the diagnostic values of Treponema pallidum PCR and concluded that PCR is a useful additional diagnostic tool. 1 However, the data on examining diagnostic performance of PCR-based methods for early syphilis are still limited in China although a few studies with the indirect data from China were included in the literature review. 1 During April to September 2009, we conducted a survey among patients with suspected primary or secondary syphilis recruited from an STI clinic in Nanjing, China, to evaluate the performance of PCR assay for early syphilis diagnosis.