Syphilis natural history, complications and prognosis

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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Aysha Anwar, M.B.B.S[2]

Overview

Initial presentation of syphilis is appearance of painless chancre after 3-4 weeks of exposure. If left untreated, chancre self resolves and may progress to develop constitutional sypmtoms and generalised symmetric rash in four to eight weeks. In less than 10% of individuals, complications such as hepatitis, iritis, nephritis, and neurological problems may develop at this stage. However, it resolves in four to eight weeks without treatment and patient enters into asymptomatic latent phase. About a quarter of patients may develop recurrence of similar symptoms in one year. If left untreated, 35% of patients may develop tertiary syphilis which include complications such as cardiovascular involvement, neurologic infection and gummatous lesions involving skin, bone and joints which is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. The prognosis of syphilis varies by stage of disease.Prognosis of primary and secondary syphilis is good with treatment. For tertiary syphilis, prognosis varies by site of involvememnt and duration of disease. 90% of patients with neurosyphilis respond to treatment. However, mortality rates are high with cardio vascular complications.[1][2][3][4]

Natural history

Initial presentation of syphilis is appearance of painless chancre after 3-4 weeks of exposure. If left untreated, chancre self resolves and may progress to develop constitutional sypmtoms and generalised symmetric rash in four to eight weeks. In less than 10% of individuals, complications such as hepatitis, iritis, nephritis, and neurological problems may develop at this stage. However, it resolves in four to eight weeks without treatment and patient enters into asymptomatic latent phase. About a quarter of patients may develop recurrence of similar symptoms in one year. If left untreated, 35% of patients may develop tertiary syphilis which include complications such as cardiovascular involvement in 15-30 years(80-85%, aortic aneurysm, aortic regurgitation, angina, heart failure), neurologic infection in 10-15 years (5-10%, cranial nerve dysfunction, meningitis, stroke, acute or chronic altered mental status, loss of vibration sense, and auditory or ophthalmic abnormalities) and gummatous lesions involving skin, bone and joints which is associated with significant morbidity and mortality.[1][2][3][4]

Complications

Complications that can develop as a result of syphilis are:

Ocular

Auditory

Neurological

Cardiovascular

Renal

Musculoskeletal

Dermatological

Gastrintestinal

Gummatous lesions

Prognosis

The prognosis of syphilis varies by stage of disease:[1][2][3]

Primary and secondary syphilis

Prognosis is good with treatment.

Tertiary syphilis

Prognosis varies by site of involvememnt and duration of disease:

  • 90% of patients with neurosyphilis respond to treatment.
  • Gummatous lesions reverse with treatment.
  • Mortality rates are high with cardiovascular complications.
  • 20% of patients with tertiary syphilis die of complications.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Thomas SB, Quinn SC (1991). "The Tuskegee Syphilis Study, 1932 to 1972: implications for HIV education and AIDS risk education programs in the black community". Am J Public Health. 81 (11): 1498–505. PMC 1405662. PMID 1951814.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 GJESTLAND T (1955). "The Oslo study of untreated syphilis; an epidemiologic investigation of the natural course of the syphilitic infection based upon a re-study of the Boeck-Bruusgaard material". Acta Derm Venereol Suppl (Stockh). 35 (Suppl 34): 3–368, Annex I-LVI. PMID 13301322.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Singh AE, Romanowski B (1999). "Syphilis: review with emphasis on clinical, epidemiologic, and some biologic features". Clin Microbiol Rev. 12 (2): 187–209. PMC 88914. PMID 10194456.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 French P (2007). "Syphilis". BMJ. 334 (7585): 143–7. doi:10.1136/bmj.39085.518148.BE. PMC 1779891. PMID 17235095.
  5. ↑ Kiss S, Damico FM, Young LH (2005). "Ocular manifestations and treatment of syphilis". Semin Ophthalmol. 20 (3): 161–7. doi:10.1080/08820530500232092. PMID 16282150.
  6. ↑ Balba GP, Kumar PN, James AN, Malani A, Palestine AG, Welch JN; et al. (2006). "Ocular syphilis in HIV-positive patients receiving highly active antiretroviral therapy". Am J Med. 119 (5): 448.e21–5. doi:10.1016/j.amjmed.2005.11.016. PMID 16651059.
  7. ↑ Westeneng AC, Rothova A, de Boer JH, de Groot-Mijnes JD (2007). "Infectious uveitis in immunocompromised patients and the diagnostic value of polymerase chain reaction and Goldmann-Witmer coefficient in aqueous analysis". Am J Ophthalmol. 144 (5): 781–5. doi:10.1016/j.ajo.2007.06.034. PMID 17707328.
  8. ↑ Schlaegel TF, Kao SF (1982). "A review (1970-1980) of 28 presumptive cases of syphilitic uveitis". Am J Ophthalmol. 93 (4): 412–4. PMID 7072806.
  9. ↑ Deschenes J, Seamone CD, Baines MG (1992). "Acquired ocular syphilis: diagnosis and treatment". Ann Ophthalmol. 24 (4): 134–8. PMID 1590633.
  10. ↑ Moore, Joseph Earle. "Syphilitic iritis: a study of 249 patients." American Journal of Ophthalmology 14.2 (1931): 110-126.
  11. ↑ Morrison AW (1992). "On syphilis and the ear--an otologist's view". Genitourin Med. 68 (6): 420–2. PMC 1194985. PMID 1487268.
  12. ↑ Berger JR, Dean D (2014). "Neurosyphilis". Handb Clin Neurol. 121: 1461–72. doi:10.1016/B978-0-7020-4088-7.00098-5. PMID 24365430.
  13. ↑ Simon RP (1985). "Neurosyphilis". Arch Neurol. 42 (6): 606–13. PMID 3890813.
  14. ↑ Lukehart SA, Hook EW, Baker-Zander SA, Collier AC, Critchlow CW, Handsfield HH (1988). "Invasion of the central nervous system by Treponema pallidum: implications for diagnosis and treatment". Ann Intern Med. 109 (11): 855–62. PMID 3056164.
  15. ↑ Loewenfeld IE (1969). "The Argyll Robertson pupil 1869-1969. A critical survey of the literature". Surv Ophthalmol. 14 (3): 199–299. PMID 19093312.
  16. ↑ Hotson JR (1981). "Modern neurosyphilis: a partially treated chronic meningitis". West J Med. 135 (3): 191–200. PMC 1273113. PMID 7340118.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 Musher, Daniel M., Richard J. Hamill, and Robert E. Baughn. "Effect of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection on the course of syphilis and on the response to treatment." Annals of Internal Medicine 113.11 (1990): 872-881.
  18. ↑ Katz, Debra A., Joseph R. Berger, and Robert C. Duncan. "Neurosyphilis: a comparative study of the effects of infection with human immunodeficiency virus." Archives of neurology 50.3 (1993): 243-249.
  19. ↑ Sapira JD (1981 Apr). ""Quincke, de Musset, Duroziez, and Hill: some aortic regurgitations"". South Med J. 74 (4): 459–67. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  20. ↑ Pugh PJ, Grech ED (2002). "Images in clinical medicine. Syphilitic aortitis". N Engl J Med. 346 (9): 676. doi:10.1056/NEJMicm010343. PMID 11870245.
  21. ↑ Kennedy JL, Barnard JJ, Prahlow JA (2006). "Syphilitic coronary artery ostial stenosis resulting in acute myocardial infarction and death". Cardiology. 105 (1): 25–9. doi:10.1159/000088337. PMID 16179782.
  22. ↑ "Case records of the Massachusetts General Hospital. Weekly clinicopathological exercises. Case 10-1998. A 46-year-old man with chest pain and coronary ostial stenosis". N Engl J Med. 338 (13): 897–903. 1998. doi:10.1056/NEJM199803263381308. PMID 9518283.
  23. ↑ Burch, George E., and Travis Winsor. "Syphilitic coronary stenosis, with myocardial infarction." American Heart Journal 24.6 (1942): 740-751.
  24. ↑ Hunte W, al-Ghraoui F, Cohen RJ (1993). "Secondary syphilis and the nephrotic syndrome". J Am Soc Nephrol. 3 (7): 1351–5. PMID 8439646.
  25. ↑ Reginato AJ (1993). "Syphilitic arthritis and osteitis". Rheum Dis Clin North Am. 19 (2): 379–98. PMID 8502778.
  26. ↑ Mindel A, Tovey SJ, Timmins DJ, Williams P (1989). "Primary and secondary syphilis, 20 years' experience. 2. Clinical features". Genitourin Med. 65 (1): 1–3. PMC 1196177. PMID 2921046.
  27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 27.2 Wöhrl S, Geusau A (2007). "Clinical update: syphilis in adults". Lancet. 369 (9577): 1912–4. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(07)60895-2. PMID 17560432.
  28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 Chapel TA (1980). "The signs and symptoms of secondary syphilis". Sex Transm Dis. 7 (4): 161–4. PMID 7455863.
  29. ↑ http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Lues+maligna
  30. ↑ Pleimes M, Hartschuh W, Kutzner H, Enk AH, Hartmann M (2009). "Malignant syphilis with ocular involvement and organism-depleted lesions". Clin Infect Dis. 48 (1): 83–5. doi:10.1086/594127. PMID 19035775.
  31. ↑ Fisher DA, Chang LW, Tuffanelli DL (1969). "Lues maligna. Presentation of a cas and a review of the literature". Arch Dermatol. 99 (1): 70–3. PMID 5761808.
  32. ↑ Young MF, Sanowski RA, Manne RA (1992). "Syphilitic hepatitis". J Clin Gastroenterol. 15 (2): 174–6. PMID 1401840, Check |pmid= value (help).
  33. ↑ Campisi D, Whitcomb C (1979). "Liver disease in early syphilis". Arch Intern Med. 139 (3): 365–6. PMID 426583.
  34. ↑ Greenstein DB, Wilcox CM, Schwartz DA (1994). "Gastric syphilis. Report of seven cases and review of the literature". J Clin Gastroenterol. 18 (1): 4–9. PMID 8113584.
  35. ↑ Winters HA, Notar-Francesco V, Bromberg K, Rawstrom SA, Vetrano J, Prego V; et al. (1992). "Gastric syphilis: five recent cases and a review of the literature". Ann Intern Med. 116 (4): 314–9. PMID 1733388.
  36. ↑ Zhang L, Zhou Y, Chen J, Yan W, Kong Q, Chen P; et al. (2016). "A case of a cerebral syphilitic gumma developed in a few months mimicking a brain tumor in a human immunodeficiency virus-negative patient". Br J Neurosurg: 1–3. doi:10.3109/02688697.2016.1173190. PMID 27088540.

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