Question about syphilis?
just as an aside its possible to have a false positive syphilis test..cross reacting with lupus ie a positive ANA testing. ive had a patient that tested positive on antenatal bloods for syphilis which was a false positive as she had SLE instead 10) What does a “false positive” result on a syphilis test mean? The most commonly used syphilis tests screen for an antibody to the syphilis organism. Lupus patients sometimes have a very similar antibody. This similar antibody, the antiphospholipid antibody (aPL), can cause an incorrect positive result on a syphilis test. If the doctor suspects that the patient may not really have syphilis, he may choose to then run a different, more complicated and expensive test that checks specifically for the syphilis organism. If this test is negative, then the patient does not have syphilis and the result of the first test is considered to be a “false positive”.
You need to continue to followup with your doctor about the situation. If you have it, then he should also have it. Have you ever been treated for syphillis? If you have a cured case of syphillis, your test will be positive forever, but it will not be active. There are tests to verify if your condition is active, or cured. Hope this helps.
