BIOLOGICAL FALSE-POSITIVE SYPHILIS TEST-RESULTS FOR WOMEN INFECTED WITH HUMAN-IMMUNODEFICIENCY-VIRUS

Regardless of the nontreponemal test used for the screening and diagno sis of syphilis, biological false-positive results (BFPs) are document ed in 1%-2% of all cases. An association between BFPs and human immuno deficiency virus (HIV) infection in men has been suggested. We conduct ed a cohort study to determine whether a similar association between H IV seropositivity and BFPs exists for women. Among 156 HIV-seropositiv e women, 9 (5.8%) had a BFP for syphilis. Among 633 HIV-seronegative w omen, only 1 (0.2%) had a BFP. When the 25 HIV-seropositive patients a nd 55 HIV-seronegative patients with reactive rapid plasma reagin test s and microhemagglutination assays for antibodies to Treponema pallidu m were excluded from the calculations, 6.9% and 0.2% of HIV-seropositi ve and HIV-seronegative women, respectively, had BFPs (P < .001; odds ratio, 39.45; 95% confidence interval, 6.4-879.0). An association was found between injection drug use and BFPs for the population of HIV-in fected women but did not entirely account for the differences between this group and the HIV-seronegative group.