Narcotic Addiction and BFP Reactions in Tests for Syphilis

A study was designed to determine the pattern of results of selected serologic tests for syphilis on blood specimens from unselected narcotic addicts. Blood from 721 narcotic-addicted patients was tested with four treponemal tests and four nontreponemal tests for syphilis. Approximately 37 percent of the blood specimens were reactive in one or more nontreponemal tests, and approximately half of these specimens were nonreactive in all four treponemal tests (BFP pattern). Although the study plan provided for retesting patients in whom discrepant serologic findings were obtained, many patients were lost to medical surveillance before a second blood specimen could be drawn. Only 77 percent of the BFP reactions were confirmed by repeat testing. The high rate of BFP reactions in serologic tests for syphilis obtained in this study appears to be associated with the use of narcotics. The high rate of reactivity in treponemal tests indicates the probability of a high syphilis rate in the group studied.