RPR

Injury	Disease	Nutrition	Poison

Symptoms	Surgery	Test	Special Topic

Blood test

Overview

Risks

Results

RPR

Alternative Names:

Rapid plasma reagin

What the risks are:

Excessive bleeding
Fainting or feeling light-headed
Hematoma (blood accumulating under the skin)
Infection (a slight risk any time the skin is broken)
Multiple punctures to locate veins

Special considerations:

The RPR test can be used to diagnose syphilis and to see how well treatment is working. After appropriate antibiotic therapy, the levels of syphillis antibodies should fall. These levels can be monitored with another RPR test. Unchanged or rising levels can indicate persistent infection.

References:

U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Screening for Syphilis Infection: Recommendation Statement. Ann Fam Med 2004; 2: 362-365.

Review Date: 6/27/2005
Reviewed By: A.D.A.M. Editorial and Eleftherios Mylonakis, M.D., Division of Infectious Disease, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

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