U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Format

Send to:

Choose Destination

Syphilis

MedGen UID:
21447
•Concept ID:
C0039128
•
Disease or Syndrome
Synonym: Great Pox
SNOMED CT: Syphilis (76272004); Lues (76272004); Infection by Treponema pallidum (76272004); Luetic disease (76272004)
 
Monarch Initiative: MONDO:0005976

Definition

A contagious bacterial infection caused by the spirochete Treponema pallidum. It is a sexually transmitted disorder, although it can also be transmitted from the mother to the fetus in utero. Typically, it is initially manifested with a single sore which heals without treatment. If the infection is left untreated, the initial stage is followed by skin rash and mucous membrane lesions. A late stage follows, which is characterized by damage of the internal organs, including the nervous system. [from NCI]

Professional guidelines

PubMed

Diagnosis and Treatment of Sexually Transmitted Infections: A Review.
Tuddenham S, Hamill MM, Ghanem KG
JAMA 2022 Jan 11;327(2):161-172. doi: 10.1001/jama.2021.23487. PMID: 35015033
Genital Ulcers: Differential Diagnosis and Management.
Roett MA
Am Fam Physician 2020 Mar 15;101(6):355-361. PMID: 32163252
Diagnosis and differential diagnosis of large-vessel vasculitides.
Keser G, Aksu K
Rheumatol Int 2019 Feb;39(2):169-185. Epub 2018 Sep 17 doi: 10.1007/s00296-018-4157-3. PMID: 30221327

Recent clinical studies

Etiology

New trends in congenital syphilis: epidemiology, testing in pregnancy, and management.
Thean L, Moore A, Nourse C
Curr Opin Infect Dis 2022 Oct 1;35(5):452-460. doi: 10.1097/QCO.0000000000000875. PMID: 36066379
Syphilis in pregnancy: an ongoing public health threat.
Eppes CS, Stafford I, Rac M
Am J Obstet Gynecol 2022 Dec;227(6):822-838. Epub 2022 Aug 3 doi: 10.1016/j.ajog.2022.07.041. PMID: 35932881
Ocular syphilis.
Tsan GL, Claiborne RT
Clin Exp Optom 2021 Sep;104(7):756-759. Epub 2021 Apr 8 doi: 10.1080/08164622.2021.1906848. PMID: 33831337
Syphilis in Pregnancy.
Adhikari EH
Obstet Gynecol 2020 May;135(5):1121-1135. doi: 10.1097/AOG.0000000000003788. PMID: 32282589
Syphilis.
Hook EW 3rd
Lancet 2017 Apr 15;389(10078):1550-1557. Epub 2016 Dec 18 doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(16)32411-4. PMID: 27993382

Diagnosis

Laboratory Diagnostic Tools for Syphilis: Current Status and Future Prospects.
Luo Y, Xie Y, Xiao Y
Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2020;10:574806. Epub 2021 Feb 8 doi: 10.3389/fcimb.2020.574806. PMID: 33628742Free PMC Article
Syphilis Laboratory Guidelines: Performance Characteristics of Nontreponemal Antibody Tests.
Tuddenham S, Katz SS, Ghanem KG
Clin Infect Dis 2020 Jun 24;71(Suppl 1):S21-S42. doi: 10.1093/cid/ciaa306. PMID: 32578862Free PMC Article
Congenital syphilis, the great imitator-case report and review.
Keuning MW, Kamp GA, Schonenberg-Meinema D, Dorigo-Zetsma JW, van Zuiden JM, Pajkrt D
Lancet Infect Dis 2020 Jul;20(7):e173-e179. Epub 2020 Jun 2 doi: 10.1016/S1473-3099(20)30268-1. PMID: 32502432
Syphilis.
Arando Lasagabaster M, Otero Guerra L
Enferm Infecc Microbiol Clin (Engl Ed) 2019 Jun-Jul;37(6):398-404. Epub 2019 Feb 7 doi: 10.1016/j.eimc.2018.12.009. PMID: 30738716
Update on the diagnosis and treatment of syphilis.
Morales-Múnera CE, Fuentes-Finkelstein PA, Vall Mayans M
Actas Dermosifiliogr 2015 Jan-Feb;106(1):68-9. Epub 2014 Sep 20 doi: 10.1016/j.ad.2014.06.007. PMID: 25245171

Therapy

Syphilis.
Sadoghi B, Stary G, Wolf P
J Dtsch Dermatol Ges 2023 May;21(5):504-517. doi: 10.1111/ddg.14999. PMID: 37183747
Postexposure Doxycycline to Prevent Bacterial Sexually Transmitted Infections.
Luetkemeyer AF, Donnell D, Dombrowski JC, Cohen S, Grabow C, Brown CE, Malinski C, Perkins R, Nasser M, Lopez C, Vittinghoff E, Buchbinder SP, Scott H, Charlebois ED, Havlir DV, Soge OO, Celum C; DoxyPEP Study Team
N Engl J Med 2023 Apr 6;388(14):1296-1306. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa2211934. PMID: 37018493Free PMC Article
Antibiotic treatment for newborns with congenital syphilis.
Walker GJ, Walker D, Molano Franco D, Grillo-Ardila CF
Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2019 Feb 15;2(2):CD012071. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD012071.pub2. PMID: 30776081Free PMC Article
Post-exposure prophylaxis with doxycycline to prevent sexually transmitted infections in men who have sex with men: an open-label randomised substudy of the ANRS IPERGAY trial.
Molina JM, Charreau I, Chidiac C, Pialoux G, Cua E, Delaugerre C, Capitant C, Rojas-Castro D, Fonsart J, Bercot B, Bébéar C, Cotte L, Robineau O, Raffi F, Charbonneau P, Aslan A, Chas J, Niedbalski L, Spire B, Sagaon-Teyssier L, Carette D, Mestre SL, Doré V, Meyer L; ANRS IPERGAY Study Group
Lancet Infect Dis 2018 Mar;18(3):308-317. Epub 2017 Dec 8 doi: 10.1016/S1473-3099(17)30725-9. PMID: 29229440
Treatment of syphilis: a systematic review.
Clement ME, Okeke NL, Hicks CB
JAMA 2014 Nov 12;312(18):1905-17. doi: 10.1001/jama.2014.13259. PMID: 25387188Free PMC Article

Prognosis

Syphilis.
Sadoghi B, Stary G, Wolf P
J Dtsch Dermatol Ges 2023 May;21(5):504-517. doi: 10.1111/ddg.14999. PMID: 37183747
Global, regional, and national burdens of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections in adolescents and young adults aged 10-24 years from 1990 to 2019: a trend analysis based on the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019.
Zhang J, Ma B, Han X, Ding S, Li Y
Lancet Child Adolesc Health 2022 Nov;6(11):763-776. Epub 2022 Sep 13 doi: 10.1016/S2352-4642(22)00219-X. PMID: 36108664
Ocular syphilis.
Furtado JM, Simões M, Vasconcelos-Santos D, Oliver GF, Tyagi M, Nascimento H, Gordon DL, Smith JR
Surv Ophthalmol 2022 Mar-Apr;67(2):440-462. Epub 2021 Jun 18 doi: 10.1016/j.survophthal.2021.06.003. PMID: 34147542
Antibiotic treatment for newborns with congenital syphilis.
Walker GJ, Walker D, Molano Franco D, Grillo-Ardila CF
Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2019 Feb 15;2(2):CD012071. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD012071.pub2. PMID: 30776081Free PMC Article
Neurosyphilis: Knowledge Gaps and Controversies.
Tuddenham S, Ghanem KG
Sex Transm Dis 2018 Mar;45(3):147-151. doi: 10.1097/OLQ.0000000000000723. PMID: 29420441Free PMC Article

Clinical prediction guides

Laboratory Diagnostic Tools for Syphilis: Current Status and Future Prospects.
Luo Y, Xie Y, Xiao Y
Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2020;10:574806. Epub 2021 Feb 8 doi: 10.3389/fcimb.2020.574806. PMID: 33628742Free PMC Article
Congenital syphilis: A contemporary update on an ancient disease.
Rac MWF, Stafford IA, Eppes CS
Prenat Diagn 2020 Dec;40(13):1703-1714. Epub 2020 Jul 20 doi: 10.1002/pd.5728. PMID: 32362058
Monitoring neonates for ototoxicity.
Garinis AC, Kemph A, Tharpe AM, Weitkamp JH, McEvoy C, Steyger PS
Int J Audiol 2018 Sep;57(sup4):S41-S48. Epub 2017 Jun 22 doi: 10.1080/14992027.2017.1339130. PMID: 28949262Free PMC Article
Risk factors for syphilis in women: case-control study.
Macêdo VC, Lira PIC, Frias PG, Romaguera LMD, Caires SFF, Ximenes RAA
Rev Saude Publica 2017 Aug 17;51:78. doi: 10.11606/S1518-8787.2017051007066. PMID: 28832758Free PMC Article
Syphilis.
Larsen SA
Clin Lab Med 1989 Sep;9(3):545-57. PMID: 2676323

Recent systematic reviews

Sensitivity and Specificity of Treponemal-specific Tests for the Diagnosis of Syphilis.
Park IU, Tran A, Pereira L, Fakile Y
Clin Infect Dis 2020 Jun 24;71(Suppl 1):S13-S20. doi: 10.1093/cid/ciaa349. PMID: 32578866Free PMC Article
Syphilis management in pregnancy: a review of guideline recommendations from countries around the world.
Trinh T, Leal AF, Mello MB, Taylor MM, Barrow R, Wi TE, Kamb ML
Sex Reprod Health Matters 2019 Dec;27(1):69-82. doi: 10.1080/26410397.2019.1691897. PMID: 31884900Free PMC Article
Antibiotic treatment for newborns with congenital syphilis.
Walker GJ, Walker D, Molano Franco D, Grillo-Ardila CF
Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2019 Feb 15;2(2):CD012071. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD012071.pub2. PMID: 30776081Free PMC Article
Global Estimates of the Prevalence and Incidence of Four Curable Sexually Transmitted Infections in 2012 Based on Systematic Review and Global Reporting.
Newman L, Rowley J, Vander Hoorn S, Wijesooriya NS, Unemo M, Low N, Stevens G, Gottlieb S, Kiarie J, Temmerman M
PLoS One 2015;10(12):e0143304. Epub 2015 Dec 8 doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0143304. PMID: 26646541Free PMC Article
Treatment of syphilis: a systematic review.
Clement ME, Okeke NL, Hicks CB
JAMA 2014 Nov 12;312(18):1905-17. doi: 10.1001/jama.2014.13259. PMID: 25387188Free PMC Article

Supplemental Content

Table of contents

    Genetic Testing Registry

    Clinical resources

    Practice guidelines

    • PubMed
      See practice and clinical guidelines in PubMed. The search results may include broader topics and may not capture all published guidelines. See the FAQ for details.
    • Bookshelf
      See practice and clinical guidelines in NCBI Bookshelf. The search results may include broader topics and may not capture all published guidelines. See the FAQ for details.

    Consumer resources

    Reviews

    Related information

    • GTR
      Related information in GTR
    • GTR(Clinical)
      Clinical tests in GTR
    • MeSH
      Related Medical Subject Headings
    • PMC Articles
      Related information in PubMed Central Links
    • PubMed
      Related literature resources in PubMed

    Recent activity

    Clear Turn Off Turn On

    Your browsing activity is empty.

    Activity recording is turned off.

    Turn recording back on

    See more...