How to take a blood test for the Wasserman reaction
The most popular test used to determine syphilis in a patient is the Wassermann test (RW). First of all, the diagnosis was carried out in 1906, since then it has changed thanks to the latest developments in medicine and chemistry, but the principle of diagnosis and the names have remained unchanged. Its basis – the definition of a special complement, which occurs when antigens and the patient’s blood serum merge, stored a dangerous virus.
Characteristics of the analysis
What is a reaction to Wasserman syphilis? This is a study that helps determine the presence of a child or an adult causative agent of syphilis – treponema pale. After it enters the body, the immune system begins to produce antibodies, which are used during the test. If the reaction is positive, treponema is present in the blood, which means that the patient suffers from a severe diagnosis.
The decoding of the study has four indicators, determined by the number of pluses:
- 4 pluses: sharply positive reaction;
- 3 pluses: positive;
- 2 pluses: slightly positive;
- 1 plus: dubious.
The stronger the reaction, the higher the likelihood that the patient has the virus. A negative value indicates no taste in the test blank. But this hemotest is not always able to show the correct result. So, the answer can be false positive or false negative. The reason for this reaction is the transfer of lungs that weaken the human immune system: hepatitis and other liver pathologies, pneumonia, blood diseases, pregnancy, malaria, etc. In such cases, an additional examination is required, which will determine the true diagnosis.
What is research for?
A blood test for the Wasserman reaction is a screening technique, a wire for preventive purposes. The purpose of the test is to exclude the presence of a severe infection in a person. Pass this analysis upon admission to a hospital, when registering a pregnant woman, before applying for a job in public catering establishments, public services, children’s institutions.
IMPORTANT !!! Studies for syphilis are regularly carried out by people who are at risk for infection: those who live or who, on duty, are constantly in contact with carriers of the infection.
Because syphilis is able to be transmitted through household contact, it can be contracted in public transport, shops, train stations, city toilets, etc. Therefore, a preventive examination for syphilis can prevent the outbreak of a possible epidemic, as well as identify the disease at an early stage, before the appearance of serious consequences for human life and health.
Types of research for syphilis
In addition to the Wasserman reaction, you can find out about the presence of treponema pale in the body using other laboratory tests.
- RPR ( Rapid Plasma Reagin ): microreaction , the basis of which is the cardiolipin antigen. Is a more modern look RW;
- ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay): one of the most accurate tests that determines the types of immunoglobulins, i.e. allowing to establish not only the diagnosis, but also the duration of the pathogen in the body.
- RIF ( immunofluorescence reaction ): the most beautiful study, because. with it, treponema in the blood serum begins to glow;
- RIBT (treponema pallidum immobilization test): a sensitive study that determines under a microscope the number of bacteria that have lost the ability to move. Appointment two weeks after the end of antibiotic treatment;
- RPHA (passive hemagglutination reaction): the binding of bacteria to specifically treated red blood cells with their subsequent sedimentation.
The decoding of the data is carried out by the doctor who prescribed the tests, in accordance with the standards adopted in the laboratory where the blood was donated.
When is the study ordered?
Indications for the test are serious illnesses and certain situations:
- close contact with people suffering from syphilis;
- on the beginning of pregnancy or its planning;
- artificial termination of pregnancy;
- the presence of drug addiction or HIV infection in the patient;
- prolonged febrile state, in which there is an increase in lymph nodes;
- initial visit to the clinic;
- registration in a hospital or dispensary;
- donation of any biological fluids.
Regular examination for syphilis of employees of medical, educational and social institutions, trade, services and other specialties involving contact with the general population.
Contraindications for analysis
For the results of the analysis to be correct, it is important to prepare for it, in which there is an exception for certain situations. So, you can not conduct a test at elevated body temperature, during the treatment of infectious diseases or immediately after the end of the fight against them (at least two weeks must pass). Girls are not prescribed trials for menstrual bleeding, pregnant women – a few days before the baby is born.
The result of the diagnosis can be positively regarded if it was carried out in the first 10 days after delivery in a woman or in the first 10 days of a baby’s life. When prescribing tests, the doctor will definitely clarify the presence of similar situations, but if for some reason he does not do this, the patient himself must tell about the features of his condition.
Conducting and preparing for analysis
The negative effect tax test is to support alcoholic beverages, fatty foods and medicines containing digitalis. So that these substances do not affect the analysis, they should be excluded from the diet two days before blood donation. In the morning, before going to the laboratory, you should not have breakfast and smoke, because. the test is given strictly on an empty stomach.
Where to take blood for research: from a vein or a finger? For testing for syphilis, venous blood from the cubital vein is required. 8 – 10 ml of biological material.
How long to wait for results? It depends on the type of research being done. RIF – the sample is prepared within a day, the rest of the tests will be done from two to four days.
IMPORTANT !!! If the test needs to be performed on a newborn baby, the biomaterial should be taken from the cranial or jugular vein.
Data decryption
The doctor who prescribed it should evaluate the results of the study. There are two main answers: positive and negative, but they also have variations. After passing a blood test for the Wasserman reaction, doctors will determine what this means in each individual case.
So what does this mean? In 10% of patients at 6-8 weeks of pathology development, tests show the absence of syphilis, although the disease makes itself felt, and this is considered a false negative response.
The opposite option is possible: the person is healthy, but the test shows the presence of an infection in the body. Also, the degree of reaction itself can be different: from weak to explicit. If the results of the procedures leave doubts, the doctor prescribes additional diagnostics or a second RW in 10-14 days.
An analysis for syphilis plays a big role in the early diagnosis of such a serious pathology as Lewis . This is one of the most important methods in urology, gynecology and venereology, as well as other areas of medicine, which helps prevent the development of serious health complications in patients of any age.