Syphilitic pneumonia: case report and systematic review
Abstract
Syphilitic pneumonia is a rare secondary form of Treponema pallidum infection. In this article, we present a case of syphilitic pneumonia in a patient living with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) with good immune-virological status. We also performed a systematic review of literature and we found 43 cases of syphilitic pneumonia described since 1886. We added our case report and performed a statistical analysis. Our analysis showed that 40/44 (91%) were males, with a median age of 46 years old (IQR 37-56), 9/28 (32%) were people living with HIV (data not available for 16/44 patients), 17/27 (63%) had syphilitic-related hepatitis during the clinical presentation (data not available for 17/44 patients), and 28/42 (66.6%) of patients had maculopapular rash compatible with secondary forms (data not available for 2/42 patients). Furthermore, 74.4% of patients had nodular lesions on chest X-ray or pulmonary Computed Tomography scan. Given the high rate of nodular pneumonia among patients, clinicians should consider it as a common presentation in syphilitic pneumonia.
How strong is the evidence?
Evidence Hub reads this as a systematic review, done in people. Its evidence level is 1 of 5 (Highest · pooled evidence). Pooled evidence from several studies sits at the top of the evidence pyramid. Reported size: 44 participants or records.
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