The footprint of old syphilis: using a reverse screening algorithm for syphilis testing in a U.S. Geographic Information Systems-Based Community Outreach Program

Sex Transm Dis. 2013 Nov;40(11):839-41. doi: 10.1097/OLQ.0000000000000025.

Abstract

The impact of syphilis reverse sequence screening has not been evaluated in community outreach. Using reverse sequence screening in neighborhoods identified with geographic information systems, we found that among 239 participants, 45 (19%) were seropositive. Of these, 3 (7%) had untreated syphilis, 33 (73%) had previously treated syphilis infection, and 9 (20%) had negative nontreponemal test results.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Algorithms*
  • Community-Institutional Relations
  • Feasibility Studies
  • Female
  • Follow-Up Studies
  • Geographic Information Systems
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Mass Screening / methods*
  • North Carolina / epidemiology
  • Sensitivity and Specificity
  • Syphilis / diagnosis*
  • Syphilis / epidemiology
  • Syphilis Serodiagnosis / methods*
  • Treponema pallidum / isolation & purification*