A 24 year old male patient with h/o primary syphilis in the form of genital ulcer & mucocutaneous lesions, presents with features suggestive of neurosyphilis in the form of meningitis for which appropriate treatment was staed. What will you do for monitoring of treatment: (A) Venereal disease Research Laboratory test (VDRL), (B) TPI, (C) FTS-AB, (D) ELISA
Answer is A. The nontreponemal cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) Venereal Disease Research Laboratory (VDRL) test is a mainstay for diagnosis of neurosyphilis. Although the estimated specificity of the test is high, the sensitivity is lower, which is a major limitation of the test Ref Harrison20th edition pg 2345