ArticlePloS one2014
A laboratory-based evaluation of four rapid point-of-care tests for syphilis.
Article in PloS one, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
20 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 49 citations in OpenAlex.
- Point-of-care Tests for Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae: Review of the Literature.Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America · 2026Pooled it
- Metaanalysis of the Performance of a Combined Treponemal and Nontreponemal Rapid Diagnostic Test for Syphilis and Yaws.Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America · 2016Pooled it
- High prevalence of syphilis in Australia: test, treat and trace.Australian prescriber · 2026Review
- Clinical development and performance of the First to Know Syphilis Self-Test for over-the-counter usage: aJournal of clinical microbiology · 2025Article
- Increasing Access To Sexually Transmitted Infection Testing: The Promise of Point-of-Care and Over-the-Counter Tests.Current HIV/AIDS reports · 2025Review
- Southern African HIV Clinicians Society Guideline for the clinical management of syphilis.Southern African journal of HIV medicine · 2024Article
- Diagnostic performance of two rapid tests for syphilis screening in people living with HIV in Cali, Colombia.PloS one · 2023Article
- Canadian Public Health Laboratory Network guidelines for the use of point-of-care tests forJournal of the Association of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Disease Canada = Journal officiel de l'Association pour la microbiologie medicale et l'infectiologie Canada · 2022Article
- Stopping syphilis transmission in Arctic communities through rapid diagnostic testing: The STAR study protocol.PloS one · 2022Article
- Using a dual antibody point-of-care test with visual and digital reads to diagnose syphilis among people living with HIV in Botswana.International journal of STD & AIDS · 2021Article
- Laboratory assessment of SD Bioline HIV/Syphilis Duo Kit among pregnant women attending antenatal clinic Mayuge Health Center III, East central Uganda.BMC research notes · 2019Article
- Laboratory Evaluation of a Commercially Available Rapid Syphilis Test.Journal of clinical microbiology · 2018Article
- Field evaluation of SD BIOLINE HIV/Syphilis Duo assay among pregnant women attending routine antenatal care in Juba, South Sudan.PloS one · 2018Article
- Point-of-care diagnostics to improve maternal and neonatal health in low-resource settings.Lab on a chip · 2017Review
- Vaccine development for syphilis.Expert review of vaccines · 2017Review
- Clinical Evaluation of 2 Point-of-Care Lateral Flow Tests for the Diagnosis of Syphilis.Sexually transmitted diseases · 2016Article
- Laboratory Evaluation of a Point-of-Care Downward-Flow Assay for Simultaneous Detection of Antibodies to Treponema pallidum and Human Immunodeficiency Virus.Journal of clinical microbiology · 2016Article
- Recent trends in the serologic diagnosis of syphilis.Clinical and vaccine immunology : CVI · 2015Review
- Sensitivity and specificity of point-of-care rapid combination syphilis-HIV-HCV tests.PloS one · 2014Article
- Canadian Public Health Laboratory Network laboratory guidelines for the use of point-of-care tests for the diagnosis of syphilis in Canada.The Canadian journal of infectious diseases & medical microbiology = Journal canadien des maladies infectieuses et de la microbiologie medicaleArticle
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
14 authors at 7 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundSyphilis point-of-care tests may reduce morbidity and ongoing transmission by increasing the proportion of people rapidly treated. Syphilis stage and co-infection with HIV may influence test performance. We evaluated four commercially available syphilis point-of-care devices in a head-to-head comparison using sera from laboratories in Australia.
methodsPoint-of-care tests were evaluated using sera stored at Sydney and Melbourne laboratories. Sensitivity and specificity were calculated by standard methods, comparing point-of-care results to treponemal immunoassay (IA) reference test results. Additional analyses by clinical syphilis stage, HIV status, and non-treponemal antibody titre were performed. Non-overlapping 95% confidence intervals (CI) were considered statistically significant differences in estimates.
resultsIn total 1203 specimens were tested (736 IA-reactive, 467 IA-nonreactive). Point-of-care test sensitivities were: Determine 97.3%(95%CI:95.8-98.3), Onsite 92.5%(90.3-94.3), DPP 89.8%(87.3-91.9) and Bioline 87.8%(85.1-90.0). Specificities were: Determine 96.4%(94.1-97.8), Onsite 92.5%(90.3-94.3), DPP 98.3%(96.5-99.2), and Bioline 98.5%(96.8-99.3). Sensitivity of the Determine test was 100% for primary and 100% for secondary syphilis. The three other tests had reduced sensitivity among primary (80.4-90.2%) compared to secondary syphilis (94.3-98.6%). No significant differences in sensitivity were observed by HIV status. Test sensitivities were significantly higher among high-RPR titre (RPR ≥ 8) (range: 94.6-99.5%) than RPR non-reactive infections (range: 76.3-92.9%).
conclusionsThe Determine test had the highest sensitivity overall. All tests were most sensitive among high-RPR titre infections. Point-of-care tests have a role in syphilis control programs however in developed countries with established laboratory infrastructures, the lower sensitivities of some tests observed in primary syphilis suggest these would need to be supplemented with additional tests among populations where syphilis incidence is high to avoid missing early syphilis cases.
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