[To pay attention to syphilitic uveitis].
There has been a dramatic increase in the incidence of syphilis over the last five years in the world. Some of the syphilitic patients have ocular uveitis as the initial presentation of syphilis, which may be misdiagnosed and can lead to a delay of treatment. Multiple manifestations of ocular syphilis include interstitial keratitis; anterior, intermediate, posterior uveitis and optic neuropathies. Uveitis, which may involve unilateral or bilateral eyes, is the most common ocular manifestation of syphilis. The serologic tests for syphilis should be considered for unexplained uveitis patients. All patients diagnosed with ocular syphilis should be tested for co-infection with human immunodeficiency virus. The preferred treatment for ocular syphilis remains high dose intravenous penicillin G.
Zhang
Mei-fen
MF
Department of Ophthalmology, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing 100730, China. meifen_zhang@hotmail.com
D006801:Humans; D013587:Syphilis / Q000175:diagnosis*; D014605:Uveitis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000382:microbiology*