The Great Impostor Did It Again: Syphilitic Arthritis

Ao, Xue; Chen, Jia Hong; Kata, Priyaranjan; Kanukuntla, Anish Kumar; Bommu, Veera Jayasree Latha; Rothberg, Michael B.; Cheriyath, Pramil

doi:10.7759/cureus.17344

Cited by 2 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 6 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Syphilitic arthritis is reported in congenital and tertiary syphilis [ 20 ], but joint involvement in secondary syphilis is rarely reported [ 5 ]. The joint disorders in secondary syphilis are polyarthralgia, monoarthritis, or migratory polyarthritis [ 20 ], and the most affected joints are the knees, hips, shoulders, and proximal interphalangeal joints [ 5 , 6 , 20 , 21 ]. Joint involvement usually occurs 3 to 12 weeks after the onset of the secondary stage [ 22 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Case of Secondary Syphilis with Mucocutaneous, Articular, and Pulmonary Involvement in a 74-Year-Old Moroccan Man

2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Patient: Male, 74-year-old Final Diagnosis: Secondary syphilis Symptoms: Knee pain Medication:— Clinical Procedure: — Specialty: Rheumatology Objective: Challenging differential diagnosis Background: Syphilis is a sexually transmitted infection (STI) caused by Treponema pallidum . If untreated, primary syphilis can progress to secondary syphilis, which has a characteristic rash and diverse systemic features. This report is of a case of secondary syphilis with mucocutaneous, articular, and pulmonary involvement. Case Report: A 74-year-old Moroccan man presented with an 8-week history of bilateral knee pain and swelling. On examination, he had bilateral knee effusions. Articular puncture brought an inflammatory fluid with a significant presence of white blood cells. Inflammatory markers were elevated. X-rays of both knees showed bilateral osteoarthritis with intra-articular calcification in the left knee. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and colchicine were prescribed, but were ineffective. A closer clinical examination of the patient revealed pigmented papules on the palms, soles, oral mucosa, trunk, and genitals. Treponema pallidum hemagglutination assay and Venereal Disease Research Laboratory results were positive in the blood (titers 1: 32) and joint fluid. A computed tomography scan of the chest revealed a focal opacity in the lateral basal segment of the right lung. The diagnosis of secondary syphilis with mucocutaneous, articular, and pulmonary involvement was made. The evolution was favorable after a single intramuscular injection of benzathine-penicillin. Conclusions: Arthritis, mucocutaneous involvement, and lung lesions can be manifestations of secondary syphilis. A detailed anamnesis, clinical examination, serology, and imaging techniques are the pillars of diagnosing this condition.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Case of Secondary Syphilis with Mucocutaneous, Articular, and Pulmonary Involvement in a 74-Year-Old Moroccan Man

2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Late symptomatic syphilis is a rare systemic disease that can affect the skin, the mucous membranes, the circulatory system, the nervous system and the skeletal system. The incidence of tertiary syphilis decreases significantly with the introduction of penicillin in its early stage, but new cases of this disease are still being reported [ 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 , 58 , 59 , 60 , 61 , 62 , 63 , 64 , 65 ,…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Bone lesions in tertiary syphilis are currently rarely described [ 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 ]. A group of researchers led by Wang presented a case of a 47-year-old woman with a gumma in the vertebral body of the thoracic spine and positive serum reactions, primarily suspected of a proliferative process.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Syphilis can be divided into primary and secondary stage early syphilis (within one year of infection), and late latent and symptomatic syphilis [ 10 ]. The number of cases of late symptomatic syphilis have dropped significantly since the implementation of penicillin to treat early syphilis [ 11 ], but occasional cases of tertiary syphilis are still noted [ 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 , 58 , 59 , 60 , 61 , 62 , 63 ,…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Challenges in the Diagnosis of Tertiary Syphilis: Case Report with Literature Review

Jankowska

Adamski

Polańska

et al. 2022

IJERPH

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Tertiary syphilis is a large diagnostic challenge. It is rarely the case that it affects the skin, bone tissue and the eyes at the same time. The presented case shows that extensive symptomatology of syphilis poses a challenge in making a proper diagnosis in patients whose history does not suspect STDs. The study aims to present the case of a young woman hospitalized with a suspected autoimmune disease, diagnosed with symptomatic late syphilis with involvement of the skin, bones and eyes.

show abstract

The Great Impostor Did It Again: Syphilitic Arthritis

Cited by 2 publications

References 6 publications

Case of Secondary Syphilis with Mucocutaneous, Articular, and Pulmonary Involvement in a 74-Year-Old Moroccan Man

Case of Secondary Syphilis with Mucocutaneous, Articular, and Pulmonary Involvement in a 74-Year-Old Moroccan Man

Challenges in the Diagnosis of Tertiary Syphilis: Case Report with Literature Review

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About