title: Syphilis is back: presentation of three cases at the ENT department.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Syphilis is a sexually-transmitted disease caused by the spirochete Treponema pallidum, and is transmitted either through sexual contact or vertically across the placenta. Rates of infection were at a low point in the early 1990s. Since then, increasing numbers of new cases of infections have been observed in all Western countries.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  Presentation of three patients with syphilis who presented within a short period of time in an ENT outpatient clinic.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  One must be aware of the increasing incidence of syphilis, even in head and neck disciplines. Typical symptoms of an early infection are an ulcerous lesion in the mouth, with or without cervical lymphadenopathy. The main therapy is high doses of penicillin G administered intramuscularly. Other simultaneous sexually-transmitted diseases, especially HIV infection, must be excluded. Unnoticed and untreated patients may develop late and life-threatening complications.
authors.affiliation: Ear, Nose and Throat University-Hospital, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gugatschka
authors.forename: G P
authors.initials: GP
authors.lastname: Hammer
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Koele
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Reiter
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Friedrich
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lang-Loidolt
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage; D002601:Chancre / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D004318:Doxycycline / Q000627:therapeutic use; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000453:epidemiology*; D018451:Homosexuality, Male; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010400:Penicillin G / Q000008:administration & dosage; D010409:Penile Diseases / Q000382:microbiology; D012307:Risk Factors; D013587:Syphilis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D013588:Syphilis Serodiagnosis; D014060:Tongue Diseases / Q000382:microbiology
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D004318:Doxycycline; D010400:Penicillin G