Review article
Syphilis Today
Branka Marinović
; Medicinski fakultet Sveučilišta u Zagrebu
Jasna Lipozenčić
; Medicinski fakultet Sveučilišta u Zagrebu
Ines Lakoš Jukić
; Medicinski fakultet Sveučilišta u Zagrebu
Abstract
Syphilis is a sexually transmitted disease caused by the spirochetal bacterium Treponema pallidum. The route of transmission of syphilis is almost always through sexual contact. Transplacental transmission has been also recorded although rarely. This disease affects various tissues and organ systems, primarily skin, and cardiovascular, skeletal and central nervous systems. Although syphilis does not represent a major public health problem, it is still present and it has
even recorded a mild increase over the last years and has occurred
in combination with other sexually transmitted infections (chlamydiae, HIV). This increase has been also recorded in neighboring countries over the last two decades. According to its duration, syphilis can be either early or late. On the basis of its clinical picture, it can be divided into three stages. The disease was dubbed the "Great Imitator" soon after its discovery due to the diversity in its clinical picture. Therefore, the knowledge of its clinical picture in early stages of the disease is important both for its diagnosis and for the differential diagnosis of various diseases, particularly skin diseases. The diagnosis of syphilis is based on anamnesis, clinical picture and laboratory tests. The drug of choice for the treatment of syphilis is
penicillin, which is given in different doses in different stages of the disease. In hypersensitivity to penicillin, doxycycline or azithromycin
may be used. Follow-up is necessary to verify whether the therapy has been successful.
Keywords
syphilis; clinical picture; diagnostic; treatment
Hrčak ID:
48275
URI
Publication date:
19.2.2009.
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