A Clinical Evaluation of Thrombo-Wellcotest as A Screening Test for D.I.C

Many screening tests have been developed for the detection of FDP for the last decade. Of these, Thrombo-Wellcotest was chosen in our laboratory as a screening procedure. For the last one year, there were 121 determinations performed on 82 patients. Of the patients suspected to have DIC, 27 patients with clinical, and laboratory evidence of DIC showed the Thrombo-Wellcotest to be positive with titers ranging from 1:5 to 1:1280. Those patients without clinical or laboratory evidence of DIC gave all negative results except for 7 positives with low titers. It is our opinion that the Thrombo-Wellcotest is a simple procedure to be performed by ordinary laboratory personnel and an inexpensive test which can be afforded by most of the patients. As a whole, the Thrombo-Wellcotest is considered to be a useful screening test for the detection of FDP in serum.

A Comparative Study of the VDRL and FTA-ABS Tests in Korea

During the period from January to December 1976, 12,489 VDRL (Venereal Disease Research Laboratory) and 2,965 FTA-ABS (Fluorescent Treponemal Antibody Absorption) tests were made. The reactive VDRL tests represented 3.6% of the total tested and the reactive rate of the FTA-ABS was 17.4%. The reactive VDRL and FTA-ABS tests represented 422 patients with clinically known diseases. The purpose of this study was to correlate the serologic findings with clinical problems. We divided the patients into three groups: 1. those with clinically diagnosed syphilis, 2. those with a history or physical findings compatible with syphilis, 3. those with no clinical evidence of syphilis. In groups 1 and 2, which represented 27% and 36.7%, respectively, a close correlation occurred between the two tests, both being reactive in 93-98% of the patients. However the VDRL was more informative than the FTA-ABS in determining clinical stages. In group 3, representing 36.3% of the reactive tests, the agreement between the two tests dropped to 77%; the FTA-ABS test was reactive in an additional 32 cases, 21% more than the VDRL. These discrepancies may well be due to the greater sensitivity of the FTA-ABS test in very early or late syphilis when there are no clinically recognizable manifestations. However the possibility of false positive FTA-ABS reactions could not be ruled out.