All issues > Volume 16(8); 1973

Original Article

J Korean Pediatr Soc. 1973;16(8):616-622. Published online August 31, 1973.

The Clinical Study of Congenital Syphilis

M. Ahn¹, K.Y. Choung¹, K.Y. Lee¹, D.S. Chin¹

¹Department of Pediatrics, Yonsei University College of Medicine. Seoul, Korea

Abstract

This paper is a clinical review of 68 cases of congenital syphilitic newborn infants. Of these, 45 cases were dmitted to Pediatric Department of Severance Hospital from Jan. 1965 to July 1972 via out patient dyspensary and 23 cases were born in Severance Hospital frohi Jan. 1967 to July 1972. 0. 54% of the total pediatric patients admitted from O.P.D., and 0.20% of the total newborns delivered in Severance Hospital were diagnosed as congenital syphilis. Of 23 cases delivered in Severance Hospital, 9 cases (39%) were full tern) and 14 cases(61%) premature. Of 45 Cases admitted from O.P.D., the first clinical symptom appeared in 33 cases (73%) within 4th week after delivery, 10 cases(22%) within 1 st week, and 12 cases (27%) after 4 th week. The most frequent clinical symptom was anemia (76%), the next were in order of skin manifestations (69%), hepatomegaly (58%), splenomegaly (50%)，high fever (39%), nasal stuffiness (37%), jaundice (24%),and bleeding tendency(19%). 30 cases were required blood transfusion due to severe anemia. V.D.R.L. test of the 57 tested cases revealed reactive response in 56 cases, and that of the 54 syphilitic mothers reactive in all tested cases. Kolmer test and R.P.C.F. test showed reactive in all tested babies (25 and 12 cases, respectively) Roentgenographic syphilitic bony changes were detected in 35 cases(87%) of 40 studied cases. 17 cases of 68 cases were died, it’s mortality rate was up to 25%. The mortality rate of the premature cases (36%) was much higher than that of the full term (16%). The skin lesion began to be improved in 4 to 5 days after penicillin treatment. Nasal stuffiness disappeared completely in most cases within 10 to 16 days. But hepatosplenomegaly exhibited no definite reduction in size in spite of treatment for 1 month.

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