Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2000 Nov;5(8):463-9.
doi: 10.1093/pch/5.8.463.

Congenital syphilis: A guide to diagnosis and management

S R Arnold  1 , E L Ford-Jones
Affiliations

Congenital syphilis: A guide to diagnosis and management

S R Arnold et al. Paediatr Child Health. 2000 Nov.

Abstract
in English, French

Although congenital syphilis is a rare disease in Canada, infected infants may experience severe sequelae, including cerebral palsy, hydrocephalus, sensorineural hearing loss and musculoskeletal deformity. Timely treatment of congenital syphilis during pregnancy may prevent all of the above sequelae. However, the diagnosis of suspected cases and management of congenital syphilis may be confusing, and the potential for severe disability is high when cases are missed. The present review provides assistance to practitioners in the diagnosis of suspected cases and management of children with presumed or confirmed infection.

Bien que la syphilis congénitale soit une maladie rare au Canada, les nourrissons infectés peuvent présenter des séquelles graves, dont la paralysie cérébrale, l’hydrocéphalie, la surdité neurosensorielle et les difformités musculosquelettiques. Un traitement opportun de la syphilis congénitale pendant la grossesse pourrait prévenir toutes ces séquelles. Cependant, le diagnostic des cas présumés et la prise en charge de la syphilis congénitale peuvent prêter à confusion, et le risque d’incapacités graves est élevé lorsqu’on passe à côté d’un cas. Le présent examen est conçu pour aider les praticiens dans le diagnostic des cas présumés et la prise en charge des enfants souffrant d’une infection présumée ou confirmée.

Keywords: Congenital syphilis.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1)
Figure 1)
Reported cases of early symptomatic congenital syphilis in Canada from 1984 to 1997 per 100,000 population. Reproduced from reference
Figure 2)
Figure 2)
Algorithm for the treatment and diagnosis of congenital syphilis. *Fluorescent Treponemal Antibody-Absorption or Microhemagglutination Assay-Treponema Pallidum. †Consider to be serofast only if Venereal Disease Research Laboratory/Rapid Plasma Reagin (RPR) is 1:4. CSF Cerebrospinal fluid
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Ingraham NR. The value of penicillin alone in the prevention and treatment of congenital syphilis. Acta Dermato Veneriologica. 1951;31:60–88. - PubMed
    1. Romanowski B. Syphilis: Epidemiology and control. Can J Hum Sexuality. 1997;6:171–7.
    1. Health Canada Sexually transmitted diseases in Canada: 1996 surveillance report (with preliminary 1997 data) Can Commun Dis Rep. 1999;25:S1.
    1. Rawstron SA, Jenkins S, Blanchard S, Li PW, Bromberg K. Maternal and congenital syphilis in Brooklyn NY. Epidemiology, transmission and diagnosis. Am J Dis Child. 1993;147:727–31. - PubMed
    1. Larsen SA, Steiner BM, Rudolph AH. Laboratory diagnosis and interpretation of tests for syphilis. Clin Microbiol Rev. 1995;8:1–21. - PMC - PubMed