Untreated syphilis in the male Negro: Background and current status of patients in the Tuskegee study

Abstract

1. 1. This report, one of a series relating to the effect of untreated acquired syphilis in the male Negro, contains a history of the study and a description of the current status of the study population. 2. 2. Included in the present study group are 408 syphilitic individuals and 192 nonsyphilitic controls who have maintained their status since the beginning of the study. Of the 408 in the syphilitic group, 51 per cent are living, 39 per cent are dead, and 10 per cent are of unknown status. In the nonsyphilitic group, 65 per cent are living, 26 per cent are dead, and 9 per cent are of unknown status. 3. 3. On the basis of the individuals examined during the 1951–1952 survey, it is estimated that 70 per cent of the syphilitic group have remained untreated, 22.5 per cent have had inadequate treatment, and 7.5 per cent have been adequately treated. However, in terms of man-years, the study represents an aggregate of 5,494.5 man-years of untreated disease, 122 man-years of inadequately treated disease, and 28.5 man-years of adequately treated disease. 4. 4. Physical examinations in this survey consisted of a review of the body systems, blood pressure determinations, funduscopic examinations, and neurologic examinations. Stethographic and electrocardiographic records were obtained on the patients. 5. 5. Blood was drawn from syphilitic and nonsyphilitic patients for VDRL and Kahn quantitative testing, as well as for the TPI test. 6. 6. This report has been prepared for the purpose of presenting information relating to the study group, which will serve as a basis for the discussion of the results of twenty years of clinical observation, to be presented in a subsequent report. 7