Muna B, Shanmugam S. Syphilis Resurrected: Case Series of Palmoplantar Secondary Syphilis.
Cureus 2023;
15:e46926. [PMID:
38021536 PMCID:
PMC10640652 DOI:
10.7759/cureus.46926]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 10/12/2023] [Indexed: 12/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction Syphilis is a sexually transmitted infection caused by Treponema pallidum which has protean manifestations. The cutaneous presentation of syphilis can mimic many dermatologic conditions. Materials & methods With an aim to describe palmoplantar involvement in syphilis, a retrospective study of case series was done with 11 patients having palmoplantar skin lesions in syphilis within a period of two years. Only serologically confirmed cases were included. Results The prevalence of palmoplantar involvement in syphilis was 47.85% and all of them except one patient (congenital syphilis) were secondary syphilis. A major proportion of cases (72.8%) studied had no history or presentation of genital lesions. Biett's collar which is an indicator of palmoplantar syphilis was seen only in 45.5% of the cases. Conclusion The clinicians must be aware that palmoplantar skin lesions might be the only clinical presentation of syphilis and a high index of suspicion is needed to correctly diagnose and treat the condition in such a setting.
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