All issues > Volume 22(7); 1979

Original Article

J Korean Pediatr Soc. 1979;22(7):518-524. Published online July 15, 1979.

Clinical Observation of Congenital Syphilis.

Joo Hwan Han, Nam Sung Kim, Woo Kap Chung

¹Department of Pediatrics, Han-Gang Sung-Shim Hospital Seoul, Korea.

Abstract

The incidence of congenital syphilis was decreased after penicillin was introduced in the treatment of the disease in 1943. However, occurrence of the disease is rapidly increasing in recent years. The authors observed 46 cases of congenital syphilis in the newborn and infants, in which 28 cases born at this hospital and 18 cases admitted from O.P.D., treated at Han-Gang Sung-Shim Hospital from January 1973 to 1978. The results were as follows : 1) The ratio of the cases delivered at this hospital was 0.35% and that of the cases admitted via O.P.D. was 0.23%. 2) The incidence of congenital syphilis in the newborn infants who were delivered at this hospital was 0.25% in fullterm babies and 0.10% in premature babies. 3) Birth weights of the cases born in this hospital were as follows : Fullterm babies, 71.5% : 2,000~2,300Gm, 14.3% : 1,501~2,000Gm, 14.3% : and no cases below 1,500Gm. 4) Cliniccl manifestations were developed at neonatal period in 77.8% and at infancy in 22.2%. 5) Common clinical manifestations were skin manifestation (73.9%), hepatomegaly (71.7%), splenomegaly (63.1%), and anemia (60.8%). 6) Peripheral blood findings of patients born at this hospital showed mild anemia (hemoglobin level below 15 Gm/dl) of 60.7%, and severe anemia (hemoglobin level below 10Gm/dl) of 25%. 7) VDRL titer of all cases were above 1 : 2. and those of mothers were above 1 : 2 except 1 case. 8) 83.3% of affected cases revealed periostitis and osteochondritis. Most common sites of involvement were tibia (75%) and ulnar (66.6%). 9) Three out of the 46 patients had complications during the treatment : one was nephrot ic syndrome, second was acute pyelonephritis, and third was pneumonia with sepsis.

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