MyMedR

Displaying all 7 publications

Abstract:

Sort:

Fulltext Subclinical acquired syphilis masquerading as membranous glomerulonephritis

Soehardy Z, Hayati SN, Rozita M, Rohana AG, Halim AG, Norella K, et al.

Med J Malaysia, 2006 Oct;61(4):484-6.
PMID: 17243528 MyJurnal

Membranous glomerulonephritis (MGN) is one of the common forms of nephrotic syndrome in the adult population. The majority of MGN are idiopathic, but the secondary forms can be seen in the setting of autoimmune disease, neoplasia, infection and following exposure to certain therapeutic agents. Histologically, MGN is an immunologically mediated disease in which immune complexes deposit in the subepithelial space. Syphilis is a venereal disease that can also be acquired by exposure to infected blood. Untreated syphilis may progress and develop renal complications such as membranous glomerulonephritis (MGN) or diffuse endocapillary glomerulonephritis with or without crescent formation. Today, with increasing awareness of sexually transmitted diseases especially HIV infection coupled by the practice of protected sexual intercourse and advancement of medicine, we have seen fewer and fewer cases of acquired syphilis. Furthermore, majority will present with typical syphilitic symptoms of such as chancre, rash, fever and lymph node enlargement in which case the diagnosis is easily obtained. We are reporting a case of acquired syphilis masquerading as membranous glomerulonephritis without typical syphilitic symptoms.

Matched MeSH terms: Syphilis/diagnosis*
An epidemiological study of syphilis and predictors of treatment failure in University Malaya Medical Centre

Mohamed AK, Raja IA, Rukumani DV

Med J Malaysia, 2020 05;75(3):199-203.
PMID: 32467532

INTRODUCTION: There are limited studies on the epidemiology of syphilis in Malaysia. In this study we describe the clinical features and treatment outcomes of patients with syphilis attending a tertiary referral university hospital.
METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the case records of patients with positive serology findings for syphilis in University Malaya Medical Center (UMMC) from January 2010 to December 2015. Serological positivity was defined as having a positive rapid plasma reagin (RPR) or Venereal Disease Research Laboratory (VDRL) with a confirmatory positive Treponema pallidum particle agglutination assay (TPPA). Treatment outcomes were divided into two, success or failure. Demographic and clinical characteristics associated with predictors of treatment failure were assessed using statistical package for the social science (SPSS). This study also included a neurosyphilis descriptive sub-study.
RESULTS: There were 637 patients identified with positive syphilis serology, but 258 patients were excluded as they did not meet the inclusion criteria. 379 patients were then taken for the demographic study; 14 patients (3.7%) were treated for neurosyphilis; 170 patients with complete data were included. In all 42/170 (24.7%) failed treatment, 12/170 (7.1%) had reinfection and 116/170 (68.2%) had treatment success. A final number of 158 patients were then taken and analyzed for predictors of treatment failure after excluding the 12 reinfection patients. Only low baseline RPR (<1:16) was found to be significant on multivariate logistic regression analysis (p value: 0.007, 95% CI: 1.42, 9.21).
CONCLUSION: Most of the patients were HIV positive and from the MSM (Men who have sex with Men) population. Low baseline RPR titre is a predictor of treatment failure.

Matched MeSH terms: Syphilis/diagnosis
Fulltext Evaluation of Elecsys Syphilis Assay for Routine and Blood Screening and Detection of Early Infection

Kremastinou J, Polymerou V, Lavranos D, Aranda Arrufat A, Harwood J, Martínez Lorenzo MJ, et al.

J Clin Microbiol, 2016 09;54(9):2330-6.
PMID: 27358468 DOI: 10.1128/JCM.02544-15

Treponema pallidum infections can have severe complications if not diagnosed and treated at an early stage. Screening and diagnosis of syphilis require assays with high specificity and sensitivity. The Elecsys Syphilis assay is an automated treponemal immunoassay for the detection of antibodies against T. pallidum The performance of this assay was investigated previously in a multicenter study. The current study expands on that evaluation in a variety of diagnostic settings and patient populations, at seven independent laboratories. The samples included routine diagnostic samples, blood donation samples, samples from patients with confirmed HIV infections, samples from living organ or bone marrow donors, and banked samples, including samples previously confirmed as syphilis positive. This study also investigated the seroconversion sensitivity of the assay. With a total of 1,965 syphilis-negative routine diagnostic samples and 5,792 syphilis-negative samples collected from blood donations, the Elecsys Syphilis assay had specificity values of 99.85% and 99.86%, respectively. With 333 samples previously identified as syphilis positive, the sensitivity was 100% regardless of disease stage. The assay also showed 100% sensitivity and specificity with samples from 69 patients coinfected with HIV. The Elecsys Syphilis assay detected infection in the same bleed or earlier, compared with comparator assays, in a set of sequential samples from a patient with primary syphilis. In archived serial blood samples collected from 14 patients with direct diagnoses of primary syphilis, the Elecsys Syphilis assay detected T. pallidum antibodies for 3 patients for whom antibodies were not detected with the Architect Syphilis TP assay, indicating a trend for earlier detection of infection, which may have the potential to shorten the time between infection and reactive screening test results.

Matched MeSH terms: Syphilis/diagnosis*
Fulltext Preventing sexually transmitted infections: back to basics

Rompalo A

J Clin Invest, 2011 Dec;121(12):4580-3.
PMID: 22133882 DOI: 10.1172/JCI61592

Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) have plagued humans for millennia and can result in chronic disease, pregnancy complications, infertility, and even death. Recent technological advances have led to a better understanding of the causative agents for these infections as well as aspects of their pathogenesis that might represent novel therapeutic targets. The articles in this Review Series provide excellent updates on the recent advances in understanding of the pathogenesis of some very important and persistent STIs and discuss the importance of considering each pathogen in the broader context of the environment of the individual who it infects.

Matched MeSH terms: Syphilis/diagnosis
Musculoskeletal lesions in yaws

Sengupta S

Clin Orthop Relat Res, 1985 Jan-Feb;?(192):193-8.
PMID: 3967422

Yaws, a spirochetal infection that is endemic in certain tropical countries, including Malaysia, may present with various orthopedic problems. As the condition is relatively unknown, diagnosis is often missed, which leads to poor management. There are initial, early, and late phases of the disease process. By involving skin, bone, and joints, yaws can produce deep ulcerations, joint deformities, and bone destruction. Within a ten-year period in Malaysia, 14 cases of serologically proven yaws have been treated for chronic ulcers, gross joint deformities, and pathologic fractures.

Matched MeSH terms: Syphilis/diagnosis
Fulltext Intersecting epidemics of HIV, HCV, and syphilis among soon-to-be released prisoners in Kyrgyzstan: Implications for prevention and treatment

Azbel L, Polonsky M, Wegman M, Shumskaya N, Kurmanalieva A, Asanov A, et al.

Int J Drug Policy, 2016 Nov;37:9-20.
PMID: 27455177 DOI: 10.1016/j.drugpo.2016.06.007

BACKGROUND: Central Asia is afflicted with increasing HIV incidence, low antiretroviral therapy (ART) coverage and increasing AIDS mortality, driven primarily by people who inject drugs (PWID). Reliable data about HIV, other infectious diseases, and substance use disorders in prisoners in this region is lacking and could provide important insights into how to improve HIV prevention and treatment efforts in the region.
METHODS: A randomly sampled, nationwide biobehavioural health survey was conducted in 8 prisons in Kyrgyzstan among all soon-to-be-released prisoners; women were oversampled. Consented participants underwent computer-assisted, standardized behavioural health assessment surveys and testing for HIV, HCV, HBV, and syphilis. Prevalence and means were computed, and generalized linear modelling was conducted, with all analyses using weights to account for disproportionate sampling by strata.
RESULTS: Among 381 prisoners who underwent consent procedures, 368 (96.6%) were enrolled in the study. Women were significantly older than men (40.6 vs. 36.5; p=0.004). Weighted prevalence (%), with confidence interval (CI), for each infection was high: HCV (49.7%; CI: 44.8-54.6%), syphilis (19.2%; CI: 15.1-23.5%), HIV (10.3%; CI: 6.9-13.8%), and HBV (6.2%; CI: 3.6-8.9%). Among the 31 people with HIV, 46.5% were aware of being HIV-infected. Men, compared to women, were significantly more likely to have injected drugs (38.3% vs.16.0%; p=0.001). Pre-incarceration and within-prison drug injection, primarily of opioids, was 35.4% and 30.8%, respectively. Independent correlates of HIV infection included lifetime drug injection (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]=38.75; p=0.001), mean number of years injecting (AOR=0.93; p=0.018), mean number of days experiencing drug problems (AOR=1.09; p=0.025), increasing duration of imprisonment (AOR=1.08; p=0.02 for each year) and having syphilis (AOR=3.51; p=0.003), while being female (AOR=3.06; p=0.004) and being a recidivist offender (AOR=2.67; p=0.008) were independently correlated with syphilis infection.
CONCLUSION: Drug injection, syphilis co-infection, and exposure to increased risk during incarceration are likely to be important contributors to HIV transmission among prisoners in Kyrgyzstan. Compared to the community, HIV is concentrated 34-fold higher in prisoners. A high proportion of undiagnosed syphilis and HIV infections presents a significant gap in the HIV care continuum. Findings highlight the critical importance of evidence-based responses within prison, including enhanced testing for HIV and sexually transmitted infections, to stem the evolving HIV epidemic in the region.

Matched MeSH terms: Syphilis/diagnosis
Hemorrhagic Descemet Membrane Detachment Following Syphilitic Interstitial Keratitis

Höllhumer R, Zairani Mz A, Watson S

Cornea, 2016 Sep;35(9):1255-6.
PMID: 27227396 DOI: 10.1097/ICO.0000000000000889

PURPOSE: Syphilitic interstitial keratitis is a stromal inflammatory disease with characteristic secondary vascularization. This case illustrates a late complication of hemorrhagic Descemet membrane detachment.
METHODS: Case report.
RESULTS: The patient presented with painless sudden visual loss and progressive shallowing of the anterior chamber caused by hemorrhagic Descemet membrane detachment. She had corneal neovascularization and a positive syphilis serology. Owing to the risk of pupil block glaucoma, the patient had surgical drainage of the blood via an ab externo approach.
CONCLUSIONS: This case illustrates a previously unreported complication of syphilitic interstitial keratitis. The patient recovered good visual acuity and had residual pigment deposits in the pre-Descemet interface.

Matched MeSH terms: Syphilis/diagnosis