Syphilis prognosis

Overview
The morbidity of syphilis varies with the stage of the disease. The primary stage of infection is often asymptomatic with systemic infection observed in patients with secondary stage and tertiary syphilis being a latent disease that persists for years has shown to be associated with severe neurological and cardiovascular complications.

Prognosis

 * Morbidity has shown to increase with the emergence of HIV as syphilitic genital ulcers serve as co-factors for sexual transmission of HIV. Patients with sero-positive HIV are predisposed to the rapid development of neurosyphilis.


 * Patients with primary or secondary syphilis with the absence of neurological involvement have shown to have better prognosis following treatment with pencillin.


 * Patients with tertiary syphilis, neurological involvement is more pronounced and prognosis depends on the duration and extent of neurological involvement.