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Case Reports
. 2023 Nov 25:43:98-101.
doi: 10.1016/j.jdcr.2023.11.014. eCollection 2024 Jan.

Syphilis and leprosy coinfection: A diagnostic conundrum

María Alejandra Londoño-Echeverri  1 , Fabio Samir Vargas-Cely  2 , Jonny Alejandro García-Luna  2   3   4 , Nelson Alberto Romero-Rosas  2   3 , Liliana Eugenia Muñoz Garcia  3   5 , Natalia Valderrama  4   6 , Juan Carlos Salazar  2   7   8   9
Affiliations
Case Reports

Syphilis and leprosy coinfection: A diagnostic conundrum

María Alejandra Londoño-Echeverri et al. JAAD Case Rep. .
No abstract available

Keywords: leprosy; leprosy differential diagnosis; syphilis; syphilis serodiagnosis.

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Conflict of interest statement

Dr García-Luna has received support from Janssen, Carnott, Epidermique, and Cantabria laboratories to attend dermatology meetings in Colombia, outside the scope of this work. Drs Londoño-Echeverri, Vargas-Cely, Romero-Rosas, Muñoz Garcia, Valderrama and Salazar have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1
A, B, Skin findings during first visit. Erythematous nodules and papules on the upper and lower limb, some with superficial ulceration. C, D, Lesions aspect after 6 months of initiating treatment for leprosy. Notable clinical improvement with clearance of most elevated lesions, with some persistence of erythematous macules.
Fig 2
Fig 2
Forearm nodule. A, Hematoxylin and eosin staining (10× magnification) showing chronic granulomatous inflammation with abundant lymphohistiocytic infiltrate and vacuolated cells in the dermis, separated from the epidermis by a normal collagen band known as Unna’s band typical of lepromatous leprosy. B, Fite-Faraco staining (100× magnification) depicting abundant individual and grouped (globi) acid-fast bacilli. Photos courtesy of Dr Ricardo Rueda, Department of Pathology, Universidad del Valle.
Fig 3
Fig 3
Summary timeline of clinical events. ELISA, Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; HIV, human immunodeficiency virus; PCR, polymerase chain reaction; RPR, rapid plasma reagin; TT, treponemal test.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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    1. Ghanem K.G., Ram S., Rice P.A. The modern epidemic of syphilis. N Engl J Med. 2020;382(9):845–854. doi: 10.1056/nejmra1901593. - DOI - PubMed
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    1. World Health Organization Leprosy. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/leprosy

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