OBSERVATIONS UPON THE NOGUCHI MODIFICATION OF THE WASSERMANN COMPLEMENT FIXATION TEST IN THE DIAGNOSIS OF LUES IN THE MILITARY SERVICE.
In the vast majority of cases examined in this laboratory the result of the Wassermann test was simply confirmatory of the clinical findings, but there were numerous suspicious cases, or cases in which symptoms were present and the patient denied a specific history, in which the test was of the greatest value, and it is in such instances, perhaps, that it may be regarded as "the court of last resort " in arriving at a conclusion regarding the nature of the condition present. Certainly if there is any value in experience and statistics, we are justified in regarding this test as the most valuable means we possess of diagnosing lues, and our experience with the Noguchi modification of the test has justified all that has been claimed for that method. We believe that our results have proven that by the use of the complement fixation test in the military service it is possible to prevent the enlistment of men suffering from latent lues who would otherwise be enlisted; to control specific treatment by using it as an index of the efficiency of such treatment; to clear up the diagnosis of obscure or suspicious cases; and to enable the surgeon to avoid mistakes in discharges for disability in cases suspected of this disease. Owing to the facility with which clinical observations can be made in armies, and the control that is possible of tested individuals, it is to be hoped that the Noguchi modification of the complement fixation test will be more widely used than it has been in the military services, for which we believe it is especially adapted. So far as we are aware the Medical Department of our army is the first to adopt this test as a routine diagnostic procedure and to apply it in the case of applicants for enlistment.
Laboratory of the Surgeon General's Office, Washington.
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Craig