Rare case of pulmonary syphilis

Abstract

Syphilis is a well known bacterium that has a great response to antibiotic treatment. Even though it is well known it can present with a wide array of symptoms. If left untreated, Syphilis will progress through primary, secondary, latent, and tertiary stages. In Secondary Syphilis, the bacterium can become disseminated and could potentially affect any organ. In Tertiary Syphilis, the central nervous system could be affected. These issues could be very detrimental to the patient and could be debilitating. In the past 20 years there has been a slight increase in the numbers of Syphilis seen in the U.S. which could be due to increasing number of men who have sex with men and increasing HIV numbers. The case discussed below entails a young HIV positive female who fulfilled all the guideline recommendations for Pulmonary Syphilis and responded very well to treatment. Pulmonary Syphilis is rare but due to its potential to cause widespread damage, it needs to be taken into consideration whenever an immunocompromised or high-risk patient presents with positive serology, respiratory symptoms, and imaging evidence. Due to its good response to treatment, if detected early patients can be treated appropriately and effectively in a time efficient manner