Back to Search
Start Over
Clinical and Ophthalmological Characteristics of Ocular Syphilis in a Retrospective Tertiary Hospital Cohort.
- Source :
-
Sexually transmitted diseases [Sex Transm Dis] 2021 Jun 01; Vol. 48 (6), pp. 436-442. - Publication Year :
- 2021
-
Abstract
- Background: Data on ocular syphilis (OS) and its clinical presentation are currently insufficient. This study aimed to investigate the characteristics of a cohort with a high OS incidence at a university hospital in Germany, focusing on the clinical presentation of OS.<br />Methods: This single-center cohort study retrospectively analyzed data on 90 patients with 109 episodes of syphilis between 2008 and 2018. Cases of OS were identified and additionally reevaluated through a study-specific secondary assessment by an ophthalmologist specializing in uveitis.<br />Results: Twenty-three patients (26%) were diagnosed with OS, 16 (70%) of whom were with binocular involvement. Uveitis, especially that of the posterior segment, showed a high prevalence. Lumbar puncture was performed in 20 OS patients (87%), of whom 17 (85% of those with lumbar puncture/74% in total) met the 2018 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention criteria for likely neurosyphilis. Five (22%) of 23 patients had HIV infection, of whom 2 did not receive antiretroviral therapy. The preferred syphilis treatment regimens were benzylpenicillin and ceftriaxone, which yielded favorable serological, clinical, and ophthalmological outcomes.<br />Conclusions: A high incidence of OS was identified, and physicians should be aware of uveitis as a manifestation of syphilis. Most patients presented with uveitis and syphilis in an early or late latent stage and showed central nervous system involvement.<br />Competing Interests: Conflict of Interest and Sources of Funding: None declared.<br /> (Copyright © 2020 American Sexually Transmitted Diseases Association. All rights reserved.)
- Subjects :
- Cohort Studies
Humans
Retrospective Studies
Syphilis Serodiagnosis
Tertiary Care Centers
HIV Infections complications
HIV Infections drug therapy
HIV Infections epidemiology
Neurosyphilis diagnosis
Neurosyphilis drug therapy
Neurosyphilis epidemiology
Syphilis diagnosis
Syphilis drug therapy
Syphilis epidemiology
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 1537-4521
- Volume :
- 48
- Issue :
- 6
- Database :
- MEDLINE
- Journal :
- Sexually transmitted diseases
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 33156290
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1097/OLQ.0000000000001329