Atypical Presentation of Tertiary Syphilis

Radiol Cardiothorac Imaging. 2024 Oct;6(5):e230373. doi: 10.1148/ryct.230373.

Abstract

Syphilis is a sexually transmitted infection characterized by multiple stages. Cardiovascular involvement is a manifestation of tertiary syphilis, occurring between 10 and 40 years after the primary infection. The authors present a case of atypical presentation of tertiary syphilis in a 49-year-old male patient who was admitted to the hospital with bilateral transient loss of vision. Contrast-enhanced CT imaging revealed thoracic aortitis with carotid occlusion, coronary artery stenosis, ischemic stroke, myocardial infarction, and multiple intracardiac thrombi. A postmortem autopsy revealed positive laboratory results for syphilis, which was corroborated by medical autopsy findings of syphilitic aortitis. Keywords: CT-Angiography, Aorta, Cardiac, Vascular, Tertiary Syphilis © RSNA, 2024.

Keywords: Aorta; CT-Angiography; Cardiac; Tertiary Syphilis; Vascular.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Aortitis / diagnostic imaging
  • Aortitis / microbiology
  • Aortitis / pathology
  • Computed Tomography Angiography
  • Fatal Outcome
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Syphilis* / complications
  • Syphilis* / diagnosis
  • Syphilis* / pathology

Supplementary concepts

  • Syphilis, tertiary