title: Comparison of Six Automated Treponema-Specific Antibody Assays.
abstract: Six different Treponema (TP)-specific immunoassays were compared to the fluorescent treponemal antibody absorption (FTA-ABS) test. A total of 615 samples were tested. The overall percent agreement, analytical sensitivity, and analytical specificity of each assay compared to the FTA-ABS test were as follows: Architect Syphilis TP, 99.2%, 96.8%, and 100%; Cobas Syphilis, 99.8%, 99.4%, and 100%; ADVIA Centaur Syphilis, 99.8%, 99.4%, and 100%; HISCL Anti-TP assay kit, 99.7%, 98.7%, and 100%; Immunoticles Auto3 TP, 99.0%, 97.5%, and 99.6%; Mediace TPLA, 98.0%, 98.1%, and 98.0%. All results that were discrepant between the TP-specific assays were associated with samples from noninfectious cases (11 immunoassay false positives and 7 from previous syphilis cases). Our study demonstrated that TP-specific immunoassays generally showed high sensitivities, specificities, and percentages of agreement compared to FTA-ABS, with rare cases of false-positive or false-negative results. Therefore, most TP-specific immunoassays are acceptable for use in screening for syphilis. However, it is important to perform a thorough review of a patient's clinical and treatment history for interpreting the results of syphilis serology.
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine, Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea.
authors.forename: Borae G
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9710-9253
authors.initials: BG
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine, Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea.
authors.forename: Jihoon G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Yoon
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine, Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea.
authors.forename: John Hoon
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Rim
authors.affiliation: Seoul Clinical Laboratory, Seoul Medical Science Institute, Yongin, South Korea.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine, Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea kimhs54@yuhs.ac.
authors.forename: Hyon-Suk
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Kim
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis*; D057205:Automation, Laboratory / Q000379:methods*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D019411:Clinical Laboratory Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D003955:Diagnostic Tests, Routine / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007118:Immunoassay / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods; D008875:Middle Aged; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013587:Syphilis / Q000175:diagnosis*; D014208:Treponema / Q000276:immunology*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial