Comparison of a combined nontreponemal (VDRL) and treponemal immunoblot to traditional nontreponemal and treponemal assays.

BACKGROUND: Serology is the mainstay for the diagnosis and management of patients with syphilis. Newer technologies such as immunoblotting are now available for the diagnosis of syphilis. METHODS: A commercial IgM/IgG immunoblot assay that detects both nontreponemal (VDRL-Venereal Disease Research Laboratory) and treponemal antibodies was compared with standard nontreponemal and treponemal assays. The immunoblot and T. pallidum particle agglutination assay (TP-PA) were performed on 198 samples. Ninety-seven samples were Rapid plasma reagin (RPR)-positive and one hundred one were RPR-negative. Positive RPR samples were titered by VDRL. RESULTS: The agreement, sensitivity, and specificity of the IgM/IgG VDRL results of the immunoblot compared to RPR were 74.2% (95% CI: 67.2-80.2), 77.3% (95% CI: 70.2-83.4), and 71.3% (95% CI: 64.4-77.1), respectively. The agreement, sensitivity, and specificity of the IgM/IgG treponemal immunoblot compared to TP-PA were 100% for all parameters, if the ten equivocal results were not used in the calculation. CONCLUSION: The treponemal portion of the ViraBlot IgM/IgG immunoblot compared well with the treponemal confirmation assay and could be a useful supplemental method to fluorescent treponemal antibody or TP-PA for the confirmation of syphilis. The addition of the detection of nontreponemal antibodies to the immunoblot assay, however, may not be of added benefit to the overall assay, due to decreased sensitivity and specificity compared to standard assays.

Multiple Discordant Histology After Nephrectomy: Descriptive Analysis and Outcomes.

BACKGROUND: While RCC is the most common primary renal neoplasm, few cases of ipsilateral renal lesions of different RCC histologic subtypes have been described. The objective of this study was to evaluate our experience with synchronous, histologically unique, primary renal neoplasms within the same kidney. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed 2 institutional nephrectomy databases from 2000 to 2013. The study cohort comprised 15 patients with multiple, discordant renal histology after partial or radical nephrectomy. Demographic data, immunohistochemical analysis, and clinical course were assessed and analyzed. RESULTS: Eight patients (53%) were black, 10 (60%) were male, and 5 (36%) were tobacco users. Median follow-up time was 13 months (range, 1-62 months), and 9 patients (56%) underwent radical nephrectomy. Among 36 tumors, the median tumor size was 2.3 cm (range, 0.4-9 cm). The most common combination of discordant tumor histology among patients with ≥ 2 tumors was clear-cell (cc) renal-cell carcinoma (RCC) with chromophobe RCC (3 cases, 19%). In 3 patients (19%), a single tumor was noted to have 2 distinct patterns; all patients had ccRCC with papillary RCC. Three (20%) of 15 patients developed metastatic disease. The median cancer-free survival time for patients with metastasis was 2 months. CONCLUSION: Multiple, discordant renal pathology represents a rarely reported entity in patients receiving nephrectomy. We introduce the largest cohort of synchronous renal tumors, of which ccRCC/chromophobe RCC was the most common pairing.