In a population with a low prevalence of syphilis most positive screening tests for syphilis will be false positives. Unfortunately, syphilis is re-emerging, even in populations previously considered unlikely to have the disease.
Noninfectious causes:
(1) rheumatoid factor
(2) autoimmune disorder
(3) chronic liver disease or other causes of polyclonal gammopathy
(4) pregnancy
(5) advanced age
(6) antibodies to test components
Infectious causes:
(1) Mycoplasma pneumoniae
(2) Lyme disease
(3) viral hepatitis
(4) infectious mononucleosis
(5) tuberculosis
(6) malaria
(7) subacute bacterial endocarditis
plus many other infections
All positive screening tests should be followed by testing for specific antibodies (often IgM or IgG antibodies).
To read more or access our algorithms and calculators, please log in or register.
