Secondary syphilis mimicking sarcoidosis

Abstract

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Primary syphilis with a tongue ulcer mimicking tongue cancer: a case report

“…Patients with primary syphilis develop hard chancre at the infected site 2 to 6 weeks after infection; however, patients usually have no subjective symptoms, including pain, and seldom visit a hospital because hard chancre disappears spontaneously 4 to 10 weeks later. 2,[6][7][8][9][10][11] After symptoms of primary syphilis disappear, the disease transitions to a secondary stage through a latent period of 4 to 10 weeks. 2,[6][7][8][9][10][11] The patient in this case visited our hospital 49 days after the sexual intercourse, which was likely during the latent period of the infection, and this made it difficult to differentiate primary syphilis from secondary syphilis.…”

“…2,[6][7][8][9][10][11] After symptoms of primary syphilis disappear, the disease transitions to a secondary stage through a latent period of 4 to 10 weeks. 2,[6][7][8][9][10][11] The patient in this case visited our hospital 49 days after the sexual intercourse, which was likely during the latent period of the infection, and this made it difficult to differentiate primary syphilis from secondary syphilis. Because no systemic symptoms and signs except those in the oral cavity and cervical lymph nodes were found after the identification of syphilis infection in our hospital, the most reasonable diagnosis was primary syphilis contracted orally.…”

“…These three “misdiagnosis” reports 9 – 11 were case reports in high-income countries (United States, Europe, and Japan, respectively). As we did, one of the reasons the authors of these reports struggled to diagnose their cases may be that syphilis is still poorly recognized, as the “great imitator”.…”

Granulomatous secondary syphilis: Another diagnostic pitfall for the dermatopathologist

“…[6][7][8][9] As in our case, the majority of prior reported cases of granulomatous secondary syphilis have described nodular aggregations of epithelioid histiocytes in the dermis, accompanied by plasma cells in most cases, ranging from rare to numerous. 6 Other reported patterns include an interstitial granuloma-annulare-like pattern, 10 sarcoidal granulomas, 11 as well as tuberculoid granulomas. 12 Granulomatous infiltrates may occur more often in long-standing lesions.…”

Progressive dermoscopy of palmoplantar syphilides

“…Secondary syphilis occurs as a result of blood or lymphatic dissemination of Treponema Pallidum. It manifests as an asymptomatic morbilliform rash during the first bloom, and a few weeks later, the second bloom [3]. This stage is characterized by specific asymptomatic lesions called syphilis.…”