title: Tertiary hepatic syphilis. A treatable cause of multinodular liver.
abstract: Although the incidence of syphilis is increasing, liver involvement in tertiary syphilis remains exceptional. We report a case of tertiary syphilis revealed by liver localization. The clinical picture was misleading, mimicking multinodular hepatic metastasis. The final diagnosis was suspected following a fine-needle ultrasound-guided biopsy of a liver nodule showing granulomas as well as acellular necrosis and confirmed by positive serum syphilitic reactions and the presence of spirochetes in the liver. The outcome was uneventful following antibiotic treatment. It is important to be aware of the misleading picture of the disease, which has a favorable prognosis provided that simple treatment is rapidly initiated.
authors.affiliation: Hepatogastroenterology Department, Hopital Pierre Delafontaine, Saint Denis, France.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Maincent
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Labadie
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fabre
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Novello
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Derghal
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Patriarche
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Licht
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008107:Liver Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology; D008875:Middle Aged; D013587:Syphilis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology