Why does RPR not turn negative even after regular treatment for syphilis?

  Syphilis is a sexually transmitted disease that invades multiple systems and organs of the human body. Since the 1980s, with the rapid development of foreign exchange and tourism, the number and incidence of syphilis have been increasing. The epidemiological survey of syphilis in 38 large and medium-sized cities from 1990 to 1996 found that the incidence of syphilis increased year by year, from 0.75/100,000 in 1990 to 7.14/100,000 in 1996; the high incidence of syphilis in China is in Xinjiang and southeastern coastal cities, and in a few cities such as Xiamen, the incidence was as high as 128.8/100,000. In 2004, the number of new cases of syphilis in Guangdong Province was as high as 10,000, and the number of new cases of syphilis increased by 40.71% and 11.83% respectively in the past 2 years. The actual figure is estimated to be 5-10 times higher than the actual figure, ranking fifth in the incidence of infectious diseases in China. -The incidence rate of syphilis rose 54.5 times in four years; the incidence rate of syphilis rose 54.5 times in four years. In terms of the growth of syphilis in each phase, the increase of phase II syphilis is significantly higher than the growth of phase I syphilis, and the growth rate of occult syphilis is also significantly higher than that of phase I syphilis. 2004 survey of the prevalence of various types of syphilis in Guangzhou showed that occult syphilis accounted for 37.27%, followed by phase II syphilis accounting for 32.24%, and phase I syphilis ranked third, accounting for 26.23%.    Among the traditional STDs, syphilis is the most harmful. In the current sexually transmitted diseases, its harm is second only to AIDS. Syphilis can invade the genital organs and mucous membranes of the skin, but also the bones and joints, eyes, central nervous system and cardiovascular system, and can be fatal or disabling in serious cases. Since the mode of transmission and susceptibility factors of syphilis have many similarities with AIDS, the epidemic of syphilis is often accompanied by the spread of AIDS. Therefore, the control of syphilis is a priority for control in China. To evaluate the efficacy of syphilis treatment, a negative serum reactin test (RPR) is an extremely critical indicator. The traditional concept is that after several courses of regular syphilis treatment, through the interaction between drugs and the body, the RPR of peripheral blood of syphilis patients basically disappears within two years, but a considerable number of syphilis seen in clinical practice, even after several courses of regular syphilis treatment, RPR still continues to be positive and cannot be turned negative for a long time. After early syphilis treatment, if the serum still does not turn negative according to the prescribed follow-up time, or if the serum does not turn negative for more than 2 years, it is called serum fixation.  For the reason of this phenomenon, some scholars have conducted a lot of exploration, and initially it is believed that the reaction of serum fixation may be related to the following reasons: (1) insufficient or irregular dose of anti-syphilis drugs and drug type selection; (2) the stage and type of syphilis and the early and late start of treatment; (3) there has been a relapse or reinfection, and there are still potential foci in the body; (4) the immune function is suppressed. Most scholars have done a lot of work on serum fixation and the immune function of the body, and believe that the occurrence of serum fixation is related to the cellular immune function of the patient’s body, but this is not the only relevant factor.  Patients who develop serum fixation have a significant psychological burden such as stress and anxiety, and there is a clinical possibility of syphilis recurrence. Patients often ask their clinicians: Can I get married and have children? Do I need treatment? What is the prognosis for my disease? So far, there is no clear or definite answer. Through clinical observation and literature research, we found that there is no answer and no relevant research on the objective problem of serum fixation in clinical practice, which is a blind spot. Some authors believe that the possibility of residual spirochetes in the patient’s body is higher, causing syphilis recurrence, and 35% of patients with serum fixation have syphilis recurrence. Some scholars believe that antibiotics should be repeated or intensified for syphilis serofixation for the fear that untreated syphilis will cause the patient to progress to an advanced stage. Some scholars oppose the repetition of antibiotics or intensification of antibiotic treatment for the reason that it is difficult to work because of the little effect after giving treatment, the waste of medical materials and increase the economic burden of patients.  According to Chinese medicine, syphilis begins with the feeling of obscene evil poison, containing heat and fire, poisonous gas internal injury, external attack on the skin and become; a long time, the stasis of heat and poisonous knot, injury to the fluid and depletion of Qi, the course of the disease is lingering. For example, “The Complete Book of Surgical Evidence and Treatment? The first thing you need to do is to get a good idea of what you’re looking for. ” There are also clouds “long illness will be deficient”, “long illness into the complex” said. The famous Qing dynasty doctor Bo Qing pointed out in “The Theory of Yangmei Sores”: “Now that the sores all over the body have been issued, it is obvious that the evidence of the great deficiency, and the toxin is exploring the middle into the interior, so how can it work without replenishing the deficiency in order to lax the toxin”. There have been reports of the use of Chinese medicine to treat syphilis serum resistance with good results. We believe that the appearance of syphilis serum fixation is the result of “positive deficiency and evil love”, “positive deficiency” is the deficiency of spleen and kidney qi, “evil love” is the residual poison unclear, depletion of qi and injury to yin. Clinically, a combination of Chinese and Western medicine has been used to treat the disease, with some initial results.  Generally speaking, for patients who have been diagnosed with syphilis, after regular syphilis treatment, RPR still does not turn negative after 2 years, and neurosyphilis is also ruled out, most of these belong to syphilis serum fixation, whether syphilis serum fixation requires treatment and what the prognosis is, are unknown.