Syphilis

Question 1

Syphilis is cause by the organism _________.

Answer 1

Syphilis is cause by the organism Treponema pallidum.

Question 2

Syphilis can be transmitted through the following routes:

Answer 2

Unprotected sexual intercourse
Horizontal transfer from mother to baby
Sharing needles with an infected person

Question 3

There are a number of complications associated with Syphilis, these include:

Answer 3

It is estimated that syphilis suffers are five times more likely to contract HIV, due to the open sores and access to the circulatory system.
Syphilis can be very problematic if the infected patient is pregnant. We will discuss this later in this lesson.
Scary - Syphilis numbers are on the rise

Question 4

List the agents for treating syphilis

Answer 4

Benzathine benzylpenicillin

Doxycycline

Question 5

Three Stages of Syphilis

Answer 5

Primary syphilis

Secondary syphilis

Tertiary(late) syphilis

Question 6

explain primary syphilis?

Answer 6

Symptoms
Usually painless penile, anal, oral or vaginal chancre,
can be asymptomatic

Treatments
Penicillin, doxycycline, erythromycin

Outcome
Symptoms will resolve with or without treatment. Antibiotics will kill the spirochetes and resolve the infection, those not treated may progress to secondary syphilis

Question 7

explain secondary syphilis?

Answer 7

Symptoms
Generalised body rash
hands, feet, chest.
Lymph enlargement, alopecia

Treatment
Penicillin, doxycycline

Outcome
Symptoms will resolve with or without antibiotics, without treatment the patient may progress to tertiary syphilis. Treatment will kill the spirochetes and resolve the infection.

Question 8

explain tertiary syphilis?

Answer 8

Symptoms
Can affect body organs
Neuro syphilis
CNS Syphilis
Late Benign Syphilis

Treatment
Penicillin, doxycycline

Outcome
Despite treatment tertiary syphilis can be disabling and even cause the demise of the patient

Question 9

The patient has admitted to having three sexual partners within the last 3 months, so it is important that we consider contact tracing as they could be at risk of:

Answer 9

Having the infection, in fact, the patient may have contracted the infection from them.
Having an asymptomatic infection or showing very mild symptoms and they could be at risk of transmitting the infection to any partners they have also seen.

Question 10

When treating Syphilis, you should also be mindful of ___________. This is a reaction to products released by microorganisms during antibiotic treatment. Jarisch-Herxheimer reactions can lead to a systemic inflammatory response which can be life threatening, in some cases.

Answer 10

When treating Syphilis, you should also be mindful of Jarisch-Herxheimer reactions. This is a reaction to products released by microorganisms during antibiotic treatment. Jarisch-Herxheimer reactions can lead to a systemic inflammatory response which can be life threatening, in some cases.