Cavernous sinus syndrome, an atypical presentation of tertiary syphilis: case report and review of the literature

Abstract

Cavernous sinus syndrome is rarely caused by tertiary syphilitic infection. To our knowledge only two other cases of cavernous sinus syndrome caused by syphilis have been reported in the literature. We report a case of a 62-year-old female who presented with a mass in the cavernous sinus, which was initially diagnosed as a meningioma radiologically, necessitating a biopsy for diagnostic confirmation. Clinical features of syphilitic aortitis and subsequent positive neurosyphilis laboratory results lead to the suspicion of a gumma infiltrating the cavernous sinus. Empirical treatment with penicillin in an attempt to defer the need for biopsy led to both significant clinical improvement and radiological resolution. This confirmed the diagnosis of a syphilitic gumma in the cavernous sinus. In this paper we emphasize the rarity of cavernous sinus syndrome as a result of syphilitic infection, highlight the diagnostic difficulties using current serological and radiological measures, and propose treating intracerebral mass lesions in serum positive cases empirically prior to more invasive measures.