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Ocular manifestations of syphilis: recent cases over a 2.5-year period

  • Inflammatory Disorders
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Abstract

Background

The ocular manifestations of syphilis are protean and can affect every structure of the eye. There has been a recent increase of syphilis infection in Europe. We report recent cases of ocular syphilis infection in a tertiary center.

Methods

During a 2.5-year period (2005–2007) we collected the medical records of eight male patients with ocular syphilis. The diagnosis was based on serological tests on blood samples and cerebrospinal fluid. All patients underwent a check-up to rule out another etiological diagnosis and to detect the presence of any other sexually transmitted infections.

Results

The ocular lesions included: chorioretinitis (one case), retinitis (two cases), panuveitis with macular edema (two cases), episcleritis (one case), anterior optic neuritis (one case), and retrobulbar optic neuropathy (one case). Infection of the cerebrospinal fluid was detected in three of the five patients tested. In six cases, the inflammation was unilateral, and the anatomical and functional prognosis was excellent at the 6-month follow-up visit. Co-infection with human immunodeficiency virus was reported in five patients, with a CD4 T lymphocyte count greater than 300/mm3. Most of the patients were treated with parenteral ceftriaxone (1 g daily) for 3 weeks with good tolerance. One patient was treated with intravenous penicillin G (18 MUI daily). Only one patient with anterior optic neuritis required systemic steroid therapy associated with antibiotics. Sequelae included sectorial atrophy of the optic nerve with visual field loss (n = 1) and abnormalities of the retinal pigment epithelium (n = 3).

Conclusions

All patients with ocular syphilis exhibited functional improvement and resolution of ocular inflammation after a specific antibiotic treatment. As a great imitator, syphilis should be considered in all patients with uveitis, scleritis, episcleritis, or optic neuritis, especially in men with high-risk sexual behavior.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ophthalmology, University Hospital of Grenoble, Joseph Fourier University, Grenoble, France

    Cindy Puech, Jean-Paul Romanet & Christophe Chiquet

  2. Department of Infectious Disease, University Hospital of Grenoble, Joseph Fourier University, Grenoble, France

    Stéphane Gennai & Patricia Pavese

  3. Department of Microbiology, University Hospital of Grenoble, Joseph Fourier University, Grenoble, France

    Isabelle Pelloux & Max Maurin

  4. Clinique Universitaire d’Ophtalmologie, CHU de Grenoble, BP217, 38043, Grenoble, France

    Christophe Chiquet

Authors
  1. Cindy Puech
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  2. Stéphane Gennai
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  3. Patricia Pavese
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  4. Isabelle Pelloux
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  6. Jean-Paul Romanet
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  7. Christophe Chiquet
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Correspondence to Christophe Chiquet.

Additional information

This work was previously presented in part at the meeting of the European Association for Vision and Eye Research (EVER) 2007.

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Puech, C., Gennai, S., Pavese, P. et al. Ocular manifestations of syphilis: recent cases over a 2.5-year period. Graefes Arch Clin Exp Ophthalmol 248, 1623–1629 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00417-010-1481-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00417-010-1481-z

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