A CASE OF SECONDARY SYPHILIS PRESENTING WITH OPTIC NEUROPATHY

Abstract

Syphilis is a chronic bacterial infection caused by Treponema pallidum, which is a common endemic in low-income countries while it occurs at lower rates in middle-income and high-income countries. Syphilis is a significiant individual and public health problem given the increased risk of HIV infection and lifelong morbidities in children born to infected mothers (1). Syphilis can be diagnosed at any stage and can affect multiple or a single organ, mimicking many diseases (2) .It is known as the 'great imitator' as it manifests itself in various forms which are often causing misdiagnosis with other conditions (8) . Ocular findings can be seen in all stages of syphilis (7). We have reported a patient of ocular syphilis with a diagnosis of the secondary syphilis stage in this case report.

Keywords

• syphilis
• optic neuropathy
• ocular
• neurosyphilis

References

1. 1.Hook EW 3rd. Syphilis. Lancet. 2017; 389(10078): 1550-1557
2. 2. Beers MH., Porter RS., Jones TV, Kaplan JL., Berkwits M. Syphilis. (In) The Merck Manual of diagnosis and therapy. Eighteenth edition. (Turkish edition) Merck Research Laboratories.ompany, 2006, pp: 1657-1663.
3. 3. Philip SS. Spirochetal Infections (In) Papadakis MA., Mcphee SJ., Rabow MW. LANGE Current Medical Diagnosis & Treatment. (Turkish Translation of 54. Edition). McGraw-Hill Education. 2016, pp:1456-1466.
4. 4. Furtado JM., Simões M., Vasconceles-Santos D., Oliver GF., Tyagi M., Nascimento H., et al. Ocular syphilis. Surv Ophthalmol. 2022; 67(2): 440-462.
5. 5. Akpek E., Thorne JA., Qazi FA., Do DV., Jabs DA. Evaluation of patients with scleritis for systemic disease. Ophthalmology. 2004; 111(3): 501-506.
6. 6. Koundanya V., Tripathy K. Syphilis Ocular Manifestations [Internet]. 2021 [Last update: February 21, 2022]. Available from:http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK558957/
7. 7. Teasley LA , Foster CS. Syphilis, An Ophthalmologic Update. Int Ophthalmol Clin. 2007; 47(2): 133-44.
8. 8. Merson JR., Shehu M. Syphilis. JAAPA. 2019; 32(5): 59-60.

9. 9. Fonollosa A., Martinez-Indart L, Artaraz J , Martinez- Berriotxoa A. , Agirrebengoa K., Garcia M., et al. Clinical manifestations and outcomes of syphilis-associated uveitis in Nothern Spain. Ocul Immunol Inflamm. 2016; 24(2): 147-52.
10. 10. Zhang T., Zhu Y., Xu G. Clinical features and treatments of syphilitic uveitis: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Ophthalmol. 2017; 2017:6594849. doi:10.1155/2017/6594849