What does discordant serology mean?

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What does discordant serology mean?

Discordant serology means you get inconsistent results across serologic tests for the same infection — some tests come back positive while others are negative. This can happen because different tests use different antigens or methods, have varying sensitivity or specificity, or reflect the infection’s stage (for example, early infection may yield negative results in some assays but positive in others). When results don’t agree, clinicians may repeat testing or use a different confirmatory test to determine the true infection status. The other scenarios—all tests negative, positive for different diseases, or no results—don’t describe this mixed, conflicting pattern.

Discordant serology means you get inconsistent results across serologic tests for the same infection — some tests come back positive while others are negative. This can happen because different tests use different antigens or methods, have varying sensitivity or specificity, or reflect the infection’s stage (for example, early infection may yield negative results in some assays but positive in others). When results don’t agree, clinicians may repeat testing or use a different confirmatory test to determine the true infection status. The other scenarios—all tests negative, positive for different diseases, or no results—don’t describe this mixed, conflicting pattern.

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