@article{3195044,
    title = "Duration of anti-treponemal immunoglobulin M seroreversion after
successful syphilis treatment in HIV-positive and -negative patients",
    author = "Paparizos, Vasilios and Tsimpidakis, Antonios and Nicolaidou, Electra and and Daskalakis, Evangelos and Paparizou, Eleni and Vasalou, Varvara and and Vrioni, Georgia and Rigopoulos, Dimitris",
    journal = "International Journal of STD & AIDS",
    year = "2021",
    volume = "32",
    number = "6",
    pages = "523-527",
    publisher = "SAGE Publications Ltd",
    issn = "0956-4624",
    doi = "10.1177/0956462420980927",
    keywords = "Syphilis; HIV; human immunodeficiency virus; treponemal immunoglobulin M",
    abstract = "Treponemal immunoglobulin M (IgM) antibody detection is currently among
serologic tests used for syphilis diagnosis. However, the exact role of
these antibodies is unclear. In this retrospective study of 326 (198 HIV
positive and 128 negative) patients with early syphilis and positive IgM
serology, data were analysed to investigate the time of IgM
seroreversion after treatment and correlation with covariate factors.
Median time of IgM seroreversion in the study population was 9 months
(range 3-84, interquartile range 5-12). No statistically significant
difference was observed between HIV-positive and -negative patients. At
12 months, 80.1% of the patients had a negative IgM test. At 6 months,
100% of HIV-positive patients had a fourfold decrease or greater in
Venereal Disease Research Laboratory titres, but only 35.4% had a
negative treponemal IgM. Secondary and early latent stage patients had a
slower seroreversion of IgM (Hazard Ratio (HR) = 0.73, p = 0.064 and HR
= 0.60, p = 0.023, respectively) than those with primary syphilis. A
very strong association was observed of time to seroreversion of
treponemal IgM with baseline VDRL titre (p < 0.001). Treponemal IgM
antibody detection often cannot distinguish between active and
successfully treated syphilis. Treponemal IgM may only be useful in the
cases recommended in the guidelines, and in cases of untreated syphilis,
it could support but not confirm the diagnosis."
}