A Case of Rectal Syphilis Incidentally Found at Regular Medical Check-up

Ji Hong You; Ki Won Cho; Yoon Jin Cha; Hyo Jin Park

doi:10.4166/kjg.2016.68.4.218

Journal List > Korean J Gastroenterol > v.68(4) > 1007568

Go to TopGo to Top Go to BottomGo to Bottom

TOOLS

You, Cho, Cha, and Park: A Case of Rectal Syphilis Incidentally Found at Regular Medical Check-up

Case Report

Korean J Gastroenterol 2016;68(4):218-220.

Published online: 4 October 2016

DOI: https://doi.org/10.4166/kjg.2016.68.4.218

A Case of Rectal Syphilis Incidentally Found at Regular Medical Check-up

Ji Hong You, Ki Won Cho, Yoon Jin Cha¹, Hyo Jin Park

Department of Internal Medicine, Gangnam Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea

¹Department of Pathology, Gangnam Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea

Correspondence to: Hyo Jin Park, Department of Internal Medicine, Gangnam Severance Hospital, 211 Eonju-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul 06273, Korea. Tel: +82-2-2019-3318, Fax: +82-2-3463-3882, E-mail: HJPARK21@yuhs.ac

Received 17 June 2016 Revised 22 July 2016 Accepted 24 July 2016

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

Syphilis is a rare disease in the rectum. It is difficult to diagnose because the characteristics of the rectal syphilis rectal lesion are highly varied. The endoscopic findings of rectal syphilis are proctitis, ulcers, and masses. If rectal syphilis is suspected to be the cause for rectal lesions, it is important for physicians to consider the sexual history and sexual orientation of the patient. We report a case of incidental rectal syphilis in a 41-year-old man diagnosed during a regular medical check-up.

Keywords: Rectum, Syphilis, Ulcer, Treponema pallidum

References

1. Choi KC, Song JY. Recent trends in clinical observation of syphilis and consideration for laboratory tests. J Korean Med Assoc. 2009; 52:1100–1106.

2. Gopal P, Shah RB. Primary anal canal syphilis in men: The clinicopathologic spectrum of an easily overlooked diagnosis. Arch Pathol Lab Med. 2015; 139:1156–1160.

3. Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2013 White book of disease control. Cheongju: Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention;2014.

4. Ghanem KG, Workowski KA. Management of adult syphilis. Clin Infect Dis. 2011; 53(Suppl 3):S110–S128.

5. Kim T. Treatment and management of sexually transmitted diseases. J Korean Med Assoc. 2008; 51:884–896.

6. Song SH, Jang I, Kim BS, et al. A case of primary syphilis in the rectum. J Korean Med Sci. 2005; 20:886–887.

7. Cha JM, Choi SI, Lee JI. Rectal syphilis mimicking rectal cancer. Yonsei Med J. 2010; 51:276–278.

8. Zhao WT, Liu J, Li YY. Syphilitic proctitis mimicking rectal cancer: A case report. World J Gastrointest Pathophysiol. 2010; 1:112–114.

Fig. 1.

Colonoscopic findings indicated several polypoid hyperemic lesions.

Fig. 2.

Colonoscopic findings. (A) Multiple ulcers 5–6 cm from anal verge. (B) A close-up of the ulcer farthest from anal verge.

Fig. 3.

Microscopic findings of a ulcer in the rectum. (A) The superficial ulceration associated with underlying dense inflammation rich in plasma cells (H&E, ×400). (B) Warthin-Starry stain (×400) reveals many spirochetes. Multiple spiral rods (arrows) are spirochetes.

TOOLS

Similar articles