Final answer:
The nurse would closely monitor the cardiovascular and central nervous systems when caring for a client with tertiary syphilis, as these systems can be severely affected and lead to death. Treponemal serologic tests are used to detect syphilis infections by measuring antibodies specific to the syphilis bacterium.
Step-by-step explanation:
When caring for a client with tertiary syphilis, the nurse would monitor the cardiovascular and central nervous systems most closely, as damage to these systems can lead to death. Tertiary syphilis can cause severe complications such as gummas, cardiovascular syphilis, and neurosyphilis. Granulomatous lesions called gummas may be present on various internal organs, potentially causing serious damage. Cardiovascular syphilis can lead to a fatal aortic aneurysm or coronary stenosis, whereas damage to the central nervous system can result in dementia, paralysis, and other severe neurological symptoms.
To detect a syphilis infection, treponemal serologic tests are utilized. These tests measure antibodies specific to the syphilis bacterium, Treponema pallidum, through various methods such as particle agglutination (TP-PA), immunofluorescence (FTA-ABS), enzyme immunoassays (EIAs), and chemiluminescence immunoassays (CIA). The treponemal tests are confirmatory and are crucial for diagnosis as they are specific to spirochete antigens, unlike nontreponemal tests which detect nonspecific antibodies produced during infection.