Tests for Syphilis in Patients with SLE

To the Editor: We should like to comment on the statement in a recent CPC (N Engl J Med 295:156, 1976) that “More extensive documentation and long-term follow-up study, however, suggest that systemic lupus and rheumatoid arthritis are both associated with a biologic false-positive test for syphilis.” We have recently evaluated a number of clinical, general laboratory and immunologic tests in 40 patients with SLE diagnosed on the basis of the criteria of the American Rheumatism Association (Cohen AF, Keynold WF: Preliminary criteria for the classification of SLE. Bull Rheum Dis 21:643–648, 1971) and anti-(n)-DNA titers. We found a. . . No extract is available for articles shorter than 400 words.