title: Syphilitic uveitis: report of 3 cases.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the clinical manifestations and visual outcome of syphilitic uveitis patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  Case series of three patients with syphilitic uveitis who were managed in Hospital USM.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Three patients were diagnosed to have uveitis secondary to Syphilis. All three patients were not known to have syphilis prior to presentation but have positive history of sexual promiscuity. All patients presented with progressive blurring of vision for average of one-month duration. Two of them have association with fever, ocular pain and floaters. Visual acuity at presentation ranges from 6/12 to hand movement. Mild anterior uveitis (non-granulomatous), vitritis and papillitis were presence in all the patients. First patient has multifocal chorioretinitis with exudative retinal detachment. The second patient presented with exudative retinal detachment while the third patient has chorioretinitis only. All the patients were treated with intramuscular benzyl-penicillin 2.4 MU weekly for 4 weeks and two of them received oral doxycycline 200mg twice daily for 3 months. The uveitis responded well to the treatment and two of them showed dramatic visual improvement from 6/120 to 6/21 and 6/12 to 6/6. The one with worse outcome was confirmed to have positive retroviral.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Ocular syphilis presented here as non-granulomatous inflammation associated with exudative retinal detachment. Final visual outcome is generally good despite slow improvement after treatment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, School of Medical Sciences, Health Campus Universiti Sains Malaysia, 16150 Kubang Kerian, Kelantan, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Shin Wei
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Pan
authors.forename: Nor Sharina
authors.initials: NS
authors.lastname: Yusof
authors.forename: Wan Hazabbah Wan
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Hitam
authors.forename: Raja Azmi Mohd
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Noor
authors.forename: Zunaina
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Embong