Secondary syphilis: uncommon manifestations of a common disease

Reports of cases of primary and secondary syphilis are increasing in the United States, particularly in urban areas and among homosexual men. While primary syphilis poses little diagnostic difficulty, many physicians are unfamiliar with the multisystem nature of secondary lues. Patients who have secondary syphilis commonly present with systemic signs, skin rash, mucous membrane lesions and generalized adenopathy. Less commonly, secondary syphilis may occur as acute meningitis, sensorineural hearing loss, iritis, anterior uveitis, optic neuritis, Bell's palsy, gastropathy, proctitis, hepatitis, pulmonary infiltration, nephrotic syndrome, glomerulonephritis, periostitis, tenosynovitis and polyarthritis. The diagnosis of secondary syphilis is easily confirmed. Its various manifestations are readily treated with penicillin and, if treated early, are entirely reversible. Two recent cases of secondary syphilis, one presenting as nephrotic syndrome and one as chorioretinitis and ptosis, illustrate the usual and unusual features of this common infection.