Secondary syphilis simulating oral hairy leukoplakia

Abstract

We describe a case of secondary syphilis of the tongue in which the main clinical presentation of the disease was similar to oral hairy leukoplakia. In a man who was HIV seronegative, the first symptom was a dryness of the throat followed by a feeling of foreign body in the tongue. Lesions were painful without cutaneous manifestations of secondary syphilis. IgM-fluorescent treponemal antibody test and typical serologic parameters promptly led to the diagnosis of secondary syphilis. We initiated an appropriate antibiotic therapy using benzathine penicillin, which induced healing of the tongue lesions. The differential diagnosis of this lesion may include oral squamous carcinoma, leukoplakia, candidosis, lichen planus, and, especially, hairy oral leukoplakia. This case report emphasizes the importance of considering secondary syphilis in the differential diagnosis of hairy oral leukoplakia. Depending on the clinical picture, the possibility of syphilis should not be overlooked in the differential diagnosis of many diseases of the oral mucosa.