Current Diagnosis Pathway of Syphilis: An Update

Abstract

Syphilis is a multifaceted contagious disease caused by Treponema pallidum, a spiral-shaped bacterium that can infect practically any organ or tissue in the body and result in a wide range of clinical symptoms. The purpose of this paper is to provide a comprehensive overview of the current diagnostic process for syphilis. The progression of acquired syphilis is typically categorized into two primary phases: early (infectious) syphilis and late syphilis. Traditional screening algorithms employ treponemal tests to validate positive nontreponemal testing. Due to its high sensitivity, particularly in the advanced stages of the illness, treponemal testing is valuable in cases where there are clinical indications of syphilis, but nontreponemal serologic testing for syphilis yields negative results. The treponemal tests yielded positive results in a significant number of patients diagnosed with primary syphilis and in nearly all patients diagnosed with secondary syphilis.