Unmasking “The Great Imitator”: A Case Report of a Rare Presentation of Syphilis
Syphilis presents with various clinical manifestations, making diagnosis challenging. We report an atypical case involving a 58-year-old immunocompetent man with a history of penile lesions. He exhibited an ulcerated skin lesion in the right temporal region, oral condyloma, lymphadenopathy, and an a...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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American College of Physicians
2025-02-01
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| Series: | Annals of Internal Medicine: Clinical Cases |
| Online Access: | https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/aimcc.2024.0915 |
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| _version_ | 1849698804972912640 |
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| author | Raul Marquez Taha Shaikh Badrunnisa Hanif |
| author_facet | Raul Marquez Taha Shaikh Badrunnisa Hanif |
| author_sort | Raul Marquez |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Syphilis presents with various clinical manifestations, making diagnosis challenging. We report an atypical case involving a 58-year-old immunocompetent man with a history of penile lesions. He exhibited an ulcerated skin lesion in the right temporal region, oral condyloma, lymphadenopathy, and an abdominal wall mass. Despite inconclusive histopathologic findings of the skin lesion biopsy, a diagnosis of nonprimary syphilis was made based on strong clinical evidence, a reactive fluorescent treponemal antibody assay, and an elevated rapid plasma reagin titer. The patient showed a remarkable response to intravenous penicillin G therapy. This case report highlights the importance of early recognition and management of atypical syphilis presentations. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-ae8720c7eb92444686e4cefeb2060eed |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2767-7664 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-02-01 |
| publisher | American College of Physicians |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Annals of Internal Medicine: Clinical Cases |
| spelling | doaj-art-ae8720c7eb92444686e4cefeb2060eed2025-08-20T03:18:48ZengAmerican College of PhysiciansAnnals of Internal Medicine: Clinical Cases2767-76642025-02-014210.7326/aimcc.2024.0915Unmasking “The Great Imitator”: A Case Report of a Rare Presentation of SyphilisRaul Marquez0Taha Shaikh1Badrunnisa Hanif21Department of Internal Medicine, Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Nevada1Department of Internal Medicine, Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Nevada1Department of Internal Medicine, Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at University of Nevada, Las Vegas, NevadaSyphilis presents with various clinical manifestations, making diagnosis challenging. We report an atypical case involving a 58-year-old immunocompetent man with a history of penile lesions. He exhibited an ulcerated skin lesion in the right temporal region, oral condyloma, lymphadenopathy, and an abdominal wall mass. Despite inconclusive histopathologic findings of the skin lesion biopsy, a diagnosis of nonprimary syphilis was made based on strong clinical evidence, a reactive fluorescent treponemal antibody assay, and an elevated rapid plasma reagin titer. The patient showed a remarkable response to intravenous penicillin G therapy. This case report highlights the importance of early recognition and management of atypical syphilis presentations.https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/aimcc.2024.0915 |
| spellingShingle | Raul Marquez Taha Shaikh Badrunnisa Hanif Unmasking “The Great Imitator”: A Case Report of a Rare Presentation of Syphilis Annals of Internal Medicine: Clinical Cases |
| title | Unmasking “The Great Imitator”: A Case Report of a Rare Presentation of Syphilis |
| title_full | Unmasking “The Great Imitator”: A Case Report of a Rare Presentation of Syphilis |
| title_fullStr | Unmasking “The Great Imitator”: A Case Report of a Rare Presentation of Syphilis |
| title_full_unstemmed | Unmasking “The Great Imitator”: A Case Report of a Rare Presentation of Syphilis |
| title_short | Unmasking “The Great Imitator”: A Case Report of a Rare Presentation of Syphilis |
| title_sort | unmasking the great imitator a case report of a rare presentation of syphilis |
| url | https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/aimcc.2024.0915 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT raulmarquez unmaskingthegreatimitatoracasereportofararepresentationofsyphilis AT tahashaikh unmaskingthegreatimitatoracasereportofararepresentationofsyphilis AT badrunnisahanif unmaskingthegreatimitatoracasereportofararepresentationofsyphilis |