ArticleBMJ open2020
Role of IgM testing in the diagnosis and post-treatment follow-up of syphilis: a prospective cohort study.
Article in BMJ open, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT02059525 (Treponema Pallidum-specific Proteomic Changes in Patients With Incident Syphilis Infection), which is not on this map. Cited by 6 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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.
The trial behind it
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.
Treponema Pallidum-specific Proteomic Changes in Patients With Incident Syphilis Infection: an Observational Study in Belgium
Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 15 citations in OpenAlex.
- Treponemal and Lipoidal Immunoglobulin M Tests in the Diagnosis and Management of Syphilis Among Nonpregnant Adults: A Systematic Review.Sexually transmitted diseases · 2026Pooled it
- Update on syphilis diagnostics.Current opinion in infectious diseases · 2025Review
- Syphilis Point-of-Care Tests (POCTs): Implementation Considerations in Canada.Journal of the Association of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Disease Canada = Journal officiel de l'Association pour la microbiologie medicale et l'infectiologie Canada · 2024Review
- IgM tests for detectingJournal of clinical microbiology · 2024Article
- Optimizing pharmacotherapy and deprescribing strategies in older adults living with multimorbidity and polypharmacy: EuGMS SIG on pharmacology position paper.European geriatric medicine · 2023Article
- Advantages and limitations of current diagnostic laboratory approaches in syphilis and congenital syphilis.Expert review of anti-infective therapyReview
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 1 institution in 4 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesThe diagnosis of repeat syphilis and its follow-up remains challenging. We aimed to investigate if IgM testing may assist in the diagnosis of syphilis reinfection/relapse and its treatment follow-up.
methodsThis substudy was conducted in the context of a syphilis biomarker discovery study (ClinicalTrials.gov Nr: NCT02059525). Sera were collected from 120 individuals with a new diagnosis of syphilis (72 with repeat infections) and 30 syphilis negative controls during a cohort study investigating syphilis biomarkers conducted at a sexually transmitted infection/HIV clinic in Antwerp, Belgium. Syphilis was diagnosed based on a simultaneous positive treponemal and non-treponemal assay result and/or positive serum PCR targeting
resultsAn overall sensitivity for the diagnosis of syphilis of 59.8% (95% CI: 50.3%-68.7%), 75.0% (95% CI: 66.1%-82.3%) and 63.3% (95% CI: 54.8%-72.6%) was obtained for the EU, MI EIAs and MI LIA, respectively. When only considering repeat syphilis, the diagnostic sensitivity decreased to 45.7% (95% CI: 33.9%-58.0%), 63.9% (95% CI: 51.7%-74.6%) and 47.2% (95% CI: 35.5%-59.3%), respectively. IgM seroreverted in most cases 6 months after treatment. Post-treatment IgM concentrations decreased almost 30% faster for initial syphilis compared with repeat infection. The IgM EIAs and IgM LIA agreed from fairly to moderately (Cohen's kappa (κ): 0.36 (EU EIA); κ: 0.53 (MI EIA); κ: 0.40 (MI LIA)) with the diagnosis of syphilis.
conclusionsIgM detection was not a sensitive method to diagnose syphilis and was even poorer in the diagnosis of syphilis repeat infections.
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