Analysis of RW - method of diagnosing syphilis

Surely many have been assigned an analysis on RW. What it is? This abbreviation stands for Wasserman's reaction, and the study is conducted to diagnose syphilis. This method refers to the category of screening, that is, aimed at early detection of diseases in asymptomatic patients. This type of diagnosis is often used for mass examinations.

It should be said that the results that RW analysis shows can not be called guaranteed. So, a positive or negative reaction does not yet indicate the presence or absence in the body of the causative agent of syphilis - pale treponema. Thus, RW analysis is an indicative method, which, however, allows to identify the disease at an early stage. Exact diagnosis of syphilis is carried out by specific (treponemal) methods.

If a negative result of the analysis is obtained, this may indicate both the absence of the disease, and that it is still in the primary stage, or, conversely, in the late, tertiary. That is, in the first two to three weeks after infection, the reaction may be negative.

A positive result does not always indicate infection with treponema. In medicine there is such a thing as a false positive reaction, which can be associated with a number of diseases: viral hepatitis, oncology, tuberculosis, drug addiction, diabetes mellitus. In addition, this "response" of the body is possible in case of pregnancy, condition after vaccination and when consuming a number of food products before giving blood.

Wasserman's reaction is the very first and easiest method of detecting the disease. Analysis of RW is the collection of venous blood on an empty stomach. The causative agent of syphilis, as already mentioned, is a spiral microbe - pale treponema (spirocheta). Outside the human body, it is able to live up to 4 days, which explains the risk of non-sexual contamination.

This analysis is based on the fact that in healthy people in the blood there is a process of hemolysis (destruction of erythrocytes), absent in patients. There are two stages of primary syphilis: seronegative (RW negative, other methods of investigation are required) and seropositive, which can have different reaction rates: + and ++ - mild, +++ - positive, ++++ - sharply positive. As a rule, most people with syphilis have a positive result only after 7 weeks.

The following categories of citizens are obliged to donate blood to the Republic of Armenia:

- donors of blood, tissues, sperm;

- admitted to the hospital for treatment;

- physicians;

- public catering workers;

- sellers of foodstuffs;

- workers of children's preschool institutions;

- people who came into contact with patients;

- Patients with suspicious symptoms: enlarged lymph nodes, lability in the bones, fever for a month or more.

In addition, the direction for RW analysis can be obtained:

- citizens undergoing medical examination;

- women who are preparing to conceive;

- persons who had casual sex;

- patients at the preoperative preparation stage;

- Patients who have consulted a doctor about the abundant discharge from the genital tract, rashes on the skin and in the mucous membranes.

So, the main goal of the RW analysis is to identify syphilis in the early stages, since the disease can last for a long time without manifestations.