Gummatous neurosyphilis in an elderly patient in the Australian outback: a case report

Abstract Introduction Neurosyphilis is an infection caused by the spirochete Treponema pallidum, which causes infiltration and thickening of brain meninges. Despite being an Old World disease, the rates of infection continue to rise. This clinical challenge involves early and accurate diagnosis, as...

Descripción completa

Guardado en:
Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Nilesh Anand Devanand, Krishnaswamy Sundararajan
Formato: article
Lenguaje:EN
Publicado: BMC 2021
Materias:
R
Acceso en línea:https://doaj.org/article/1900367793464bb390960628ce2a36d9
Etiquetas: Agregar Etiqueta
Sin Etiquetas, Sea el primero en etiquetar este registro!
id oai:doaj.org-article:1900367793464bb390960628ce2a36d9
record_format dspace
spelling oai:doaj.org-article:1900367793464bb390960628ce2a36d92021-11-14T12:37:49ZGummatous neurosyphilis in an elderly patient in the Australian outback: a case report10.1186/s13256-021-03153-11752-1947https://doaj.org/article/1900367793464bb390960628ce2a36d92021-11-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1186/s13256-021-03153-1https://doaj.org/toc/1752-1947Abstract Introduction Neurosyphilis is an infection caused by the spirochete Treponema pallidum, which causes infiltration and thickening of brain meninges. Despite being an Old World disease, the rates of infection continue to rise. This clinical challenge involves early and accurate diagnosis, as neurosyphilis masquerades with various clinical symptoms and is often missed during initial presentation to the hospital. A comprehensive history and clinical examination are essential to detect suspicious cases early for further cerebrospinal fluid examination and neuroimaging. Patients treated with benzylpenicillin for a specific duration often show promising clinical and cognitive improvement, thus emphasizing the need for constant vigilance in our day-to-day practice. Case presentation A 77-year-old Caucasian gentleman presented to our hospital repeatedly with multiple episodes of presyncope and cognitive impairment. He also demonstrated bilateral deafness, tabes dorsalis, and left sixth cranial nerve palsy. His cerebrospinal fluid examination showed a nonreactive venereal disease research laboratory test, and magnetic resonance imaging of the brain revealed a gumma. Conclusion The diagnosis of neurosyphilis in the elderly requires a combination of clinical vigilance and a high index of suspicion, along with multimodal investigations, including cerebrospinal fluid examination and brain imaging.Nilesh Anand DevanandKrishnaswamy SundararajanBMCarticleSyphilisNeurosyphilisGummaCSF VDRLMedicineRENJournal of Medical Case Reports, Vol 15, Iss 1, Pp 1-4 (2021)
institution DOAJ
collection DOAJ
language EN
topic Syphilis
Neurosyphilis
Gumma
CSF VDRL
Medicine
R
spellingShingle Syphilis
Neurosyphilis
Gumma
CSF VDRL
Medicine
R
Nilesh Anand Devanand
Krishnaswamy Sundararajan
Gummatous neurosyphilis in an elderly patient in the Australian outback: a case report
description Abstract Introduction Neurosyphilis is an infection caused by the spirochete Treponema pallidum, which causes infiltration and thickening of brain meninges. Despite being an Old World disease, the rates of infection continue to rise. This clinical challenge involves early and accurate diagnosis, as neurosyphilis masquerades with various clinical symptoms and is often missed during initial presentation to the hospital. A comprehensive history and clinical examination are essential to detect suspicious cases early for further cerebrospinal fluid examination and neuroimaging. Patients treated with benzylpenicillin for a specific duration often show promising clinical and cognitive improvement, thus emphasizing the need for constant vigilance in our day-to-day practice. Case presentation A 77-year-old Caucasian gentleman presented to our hospital repeatedly with multiple episodes of presyncope and cognitive impairment. He also demonstrated bilateral deafness, tabes dorsalis, and left sixth cranial nerve palsy. His cerebrospinal fluid examination showed a nonreactive venereal disease research laboratory test, and magnetic resonance imaging of the brain revealed a gumma. Conclusion The diagnosis of neurosyphilis in the elderly requires a combination of clinical vigilance and a high index of suspicion, along with multimodal investigations, including cerebrospinal fluid examination and brain imaging.
format article
author Nilesh Anand Devanand
Krishnaswamy Sundararajan
author_facet Nilesh Anand Devanand
Krishnaswamy Sundararajan
author_sort Nilesh Anand Devanand
title Gummatous neurosyphilis in an elderly patient in the Australian outback: a case report
title_short Gummatous neurosyphilis in an elderly patient in the Australian outback: a case report
title_full Gummatous neurosyphilis in an elderly patient in the Australian outback: a case report
title_fullStr Gummatous neurosyphilis in an elderly patient in the Australian outback: a case report
title_full_unstemmed Gummatous neurosyphilis in an elderly patient in the Australian outback: a case report
title_sort gummatous neurosyphilis in an elderly patient in the australian outback: a case report
publisher BMC
publishDate 2021
url https://doaj.org/article/1900367793464bb390960628ce2a36d9
work_keys_str_mv AT nileshananddevanand gummatousneurosyphilisinanelderlypatientintheaustralianoutbackacasereport
AT krishnaswamysundararajan gummatousneurosyphilisinanelderlypatientintheaustralianoutbackacasereport
_version_ 1718429092504666112