2011
DOI: 10.2169/internalmedicine.50.5605
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Pathologically Confirmed Malignant Syphilis in an HIV-Infected Patient

Abstract: We report a case of pathologically confirmed malignant syphilis in an HIV-infected patient. Physical examinations revealed ulceronecrotic skin lesions. Skin biopsies demonstrated syphilis spirochetes on immunohistochemical stain, and syphilis serological titers were positive. Treatment with intravenous penicillin G was begun, and complete resolution of the skin lesions was observed. A rapid plasma reagin titer test performed 3 months after treatment revealed a 4-fold reduction in the titer, indicating successf… Show more

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Cited by 16 publications
(10 citation statements)
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“…The paucity of spirochetes in biopsy specimens makes the diagnosis of malignant syphilis a challenge for clinicians. Although in currently reported cases spirochetes are usually found in tissue specimens, 13 in our patient spirochetes were not detected in the skin lesions. This fact has been described before in the largest case series from Don et al, 14 when they described six patients with HIV with malignant syphilis in which immunohistochemical stain did not demonstrate spirochetes in any of the biopsy samples.…”
contrasting
confidence: 74%
“…The paucity of spirochetes in biopsy specimens makes the diagnosis of malignant syphilis a challenge for clinicians. Although in currently reported cases spirochetes are usually found in tissue specimens, 13 in our patient spirochetes were not detected in the skin lesions. This fact has been described before in the largest case series from Don et al, 14 when they described six patients with HIV with malignant syphilis in which immunohistochemical stain did not demonstrate spirochetes in any of the biopsy samples.…”
contrasting
confidence: 74%
“…La histopatología mostró la presencia de espiroquetas mediante la tinción de Warthin-Starry en sólo 12 de 21 pacientes (57%). Por esta razón, el diagnóstico de sífilis maligna se confirma habitualmente por los hallazgos histopatológicos de la biopsia de las lesiones cutáneas, siendo infrecuente la identificación de espiroquetas 11,12 . Éstas pueden ponerse de manifiesto utilizando técnicas de inmunohistoquímica o las tinciones de Warthin-Starry o de Steiner 13,14,15 .…”
Section: Discussionunclassified
“…La ausencia de espiroquetas en el infiltrado inflamatorio también se comprueba en los sujetos no infectados por VIH 17 . Hasta el año 2011 sólo se habían publicado seis casos de sífilis maligna en pacientes con infección por VIH confirmados por hallazgos histopatológicos 12 . En el paciente que describimos, si bien no se observaron espiroquetas con las tinciones especiales, la histopatología fue característica de sífilis con densos infiltrados linfo-plasmocitarios localizados en la dermis y rodeando anexos cutáneos y vasos.…”
Section: Discussionunclassified
“…In the past, it was thought that spirochaetes were absent from tissue samples of malignant syphilis . However, it is likely that T. pallidum could be much more frequently identified with the development of immunohistochemical staining assays . Additionally, PCR is a more sensitive option to detect T. pallidum in clinically suspected lesions, especially if the organism is present in low numbers.…”
Section: Discussionmentioning
confidence: 99%