ArticlePloS one2023
Diagnostic performance of two rapid tests for syphilis screening in people living with HIV in Cali, Colombia.
Article in PloS one, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 7 papers.
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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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Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 9 citations in OpenAlex.
- Dual Treponemal and Non-Treponemal Rapid Test for Syphilis in People Living with HIV: A Diagnostic Accuracy Study.Sexually transmitted diseases · 2026Article
- Diagnostic performance of the Hightop Rapid Diagnostic Test for the detection of antiBMJ open · 2025Article
- Modeling the Impact of Time to Treatment on Syphilis Prevalence: A Theoretical Mathematical Model of People Living With HIV in Colombia.Sexually transmitted diseases · 2025Article
- Accuracy of capillary blood sampling for diagnosing syphilis infection.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Correction: Diagnostic performance of two rapid tests for syphilis screening in people living with HIV in Cali, Colombia.PloS one · 2025Article
- Article
- Prevalence of HIV,HIV/AIDS (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
12 authors at 5 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
Abstract
introductionThere is insufficient evidence supporting the use of rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) for syphilis in people living with HIV (PLWH). We evaluated the diagnostic performance of two commercially available RDTs (Bioline and Determine) in PLWH in Cali, Colombia.
methodsA cross-sectional field validation study on consecutive adults with confirmed HIV diagnosis attending three outpatient clinics. Both RDTs were performed on capillary blood (CB), obtained by finger prick, and sera, by venipuncture. A combination of treponemal enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and Treponema pallidum haemagglutination assay (TPHA) on serum samples was the reference standard. Rapid plasma reagin (RPR) and clinical criteria were added to define active syphilis. Sensitivity and specificity, predictive values and likelihood ratios (LR) of RDTs were estimated with their corresponding 95% confidence interval (95% CI). Stratified analyses by sample type, patient characteristics, non-treponemal titers, operator and re-training were performed.
results244 PLWH were enrolled, of whom 112 (46%) had positive treponemal reference tests and 26/234 (11.1%) had active syphilis. The sensitivities of Bioline on CB and sera were similar (96.4% vs 94.6%, p = 0.6). In contrast, Determine had a lower sensitivity on CB than sera (87.5% vs 99.1%, p<0.001). Sensitivities were lower in PLWH not receiving ART (Bioline 87.1% and Determine 64.5%, p<0.001) and for one of the operators (Bioline 85% and Determine 60%, p<0.001). Specificities of the RDTs were > 95% in most analyses. Predictive values were 90% or higher. For active syphilis, the RDTs showed a similar performance pattern but with decreased specificities.
conclusionThe studied RDTs have an excellent performance in PLWH to screen for syphilis and potentially for active syphilis, yet Determine performs better on sera than CB. Patient characteristics and potential difficulties operators may face in acquiring enough blood volume from finger pricks should be considered for the implementation and the interpretation of RDTs.
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