Lewis's Medical Surgical Nursing in Canada, 5th Edition - Nursing Assessment: Reproductive System Related

Review Lewis's Medical Surgical Nursing in Canada, 5th Edition - Nursing Assessment: Reproductive System related questions and content

The nurse is assessing a patient in the Sexual Health Clinic who has a positive Venereal Disease Research Laboratory (VDRL) test, but no chancre is noted. The nurse should plan to send the specimens for which of the following tests?

  • A. Gram stain
  • B. Cytological studies
  • C. Rapid plasma reagin (RPR) agglutination
  • D. Fluorescent treponemal antibody absorption (FTA-ABS)
Correct Answer: D

Rationale: Since false positives are common with VDRL and RPR testing, FTA-ABS testing is recommended to confirm a diagnosis of syphilis. Gram staining is used for other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) such as gonorrhea and chlamydia, and cytological studies are used to detect abnormal cells (such as neoplastic cells).