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Peyton Delaney, MD
Galveston, Tex

Arch Dermatol. 1980;116(11):1227.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

To the Editor.—

The review of syphilis serology in the January ARCHIVES (116:84-89, 1980) by Felman and Nikitas is timely and informative. As a neurologist, I believe that their discussion of the CSF examination deserves two comments.

First, to state that "a reactive CSF nontreponemal test is almost always an indication of neurosyphilis" and that "false-positive reactions to a non-treponemal test in the CSF rarely occur" is too dogmatic and perpetuates the myth that a reactive CSF serology means neurosyphilis. A few causes of false-positive CSF serology test results are mentioned, but the authors' list is incomplete, excluding more common entities, ie, subarachnoid hemorrhage, sarcoidosis, and collagen vascular disorders.¹ As I have stated previously,² I believe that a false-positive CSF serology is more frequent than the clinician realizes.

Second, the issue of a routine CSF examination in patients . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

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