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Infections of the Posterior Segment: Ocular Syphilis

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Ocular Infections

Part of the book series: Essentials in Ophthalmology ((ESSENTIALS))

Abstract

Syphilis is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the spirochete Treponema pallidum. Left untreated, the disease progresses through four stages. Posterior segment involvement may occur at any stage of the disease and may include intermediate and posterior uveitis, chorioretinitis, retinitis, retinal vasculitis, and optic neuropathy. Diagnosis of syphilis is based on high level of clinical suspicion and supported by a combination of treponemal-specific and nontreponemal serological tests. All patients with newly diagnosed syphilis should be tested for coinfection with human immunodeficiency virus, as the risk factors are similar for both diseases. Patients with ocular syphilis should be treated as neurosyphilis with aqueous penicillin G or procaine penicillin G plus probenecid.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ophthalmology, Fattouma Bourguiba University Hospital, Monastir, Tunisia

    Sonia Zaouali MD, Rim Kahloun MD & Moncef Khairallah MD

  2. Faculty of Medicine, University of Monastir, Monastir, Tunisia

    Sonia Zaouali MD, Rim Kahloun MD & Moncef Khairallah MD

Authors
  1. Sonia Zaouali MD
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  2. Rim Kahloun MD
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  3. Moncef Khairallah MD
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Moncef Khairallah MD .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ophthalmology, The Eye Center, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

    Khalid F. Tabbara

  2. Department of Ophthalmology, King Abdulaziz University Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

    Ahmed M. Abu El-Asrar

  3. Department of Ophthalmology, Fattouma Bourguiba University Hospital, Monastir, Tunisia

    Moncef Khairallah

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© 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Zaouali, S., Kahloun, R., Khairallah, M. (2014). Infections of the Posterior Segment: Ocular Syphilis. In: Tabbara, K., El-Asrar, A., Khairallah, M. (eds) Ocular Infections. Essentials in Ophthalmology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-43981-4_10

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-43981-4_10

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-662-43980-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-662-43981-4

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

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