Abstract:

Objective To analyze the clinical manifestations and treatment of acquired syphilis in children. Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted. The clinical data on 14 patients with acquired syphilis collected from July 2007 to December 2010 were assessed. Results Among the 14 cases, 10 were secondary syphilis, 2 early latent syphilis, and 2 late latent syphilis. Seven of the patients had been misdiagnosed as other diseases. All the patients had a history of close contact with syphilis patients or having mouth-to-mouth feeding history after chewing food by adult patients with syphilis. Both rapid plasma reagin （RPR） test and Treponema pallidum haemagglutination assay （TPHA） were positive in all the patients. The skin lesions were mainly located in the oral cavity mucosa and rarely in the trunk, which included leukoplakia, mucosal wet papules, and pustules. Conclusions Acquired syphilis in children is often clinically misdiagnosed or ignored. For children presenting with atypical skin rashes, especially for those having close contact with active syphilis patients, acquired syphilis should be suspected.