All issues > Volume 9(5); 1966

Original Article

J Korean Pediatr Soc. 1966;9(5):293-302. Published online September 30, 1966.

The Clinical Studies of Congenital Syphilis

Jang Jae Jo¹, Young Shin Kwark¹, Myeong Jong Kim¹, In Kyu Kim¹, Kyong Ja Yun¹

¹Deparment of Pediatrics School of Medicine, Pusan University

Abstract

The authors observed 12 cases of congenital syphilis in infants seen and treated at Pusan Childrens Charity Hospital and The Save the Children Fund Clinic Pusan Korea during the period from Dec. 1964 to Apr. 1966. The results are as follows; 1)The highest incidence was in babies from 2 weeks of age to 3 months. First symptoms appeared between 2 and 4 weeks of age in 10 of the 12 infants. The ratio of female to male was 3 : 1. 2)Snuffles, skin eruptions, hepatosplenomegaly, mucous diarrhea, conjunctivitis and pseudoparalysis were the most common early presenting symptoms and signs. 3)Anemia, malnutrition (92%), bony changes (90%), hepatomegaly (75%) and snuffles (67%) were the most common presenting symptoms and nigns. 4) 10 of the eleven infants who had X-rays taken showed syphilitic changes in the bones. Periosteal thickening was found in 10 cases, chondroepiphysitis, osteochondritis and metaphysitis were seen in 4 cases. Three of these 4 cases had pseudoparalysis. 5)All infants and their mothers had positive cardiolipin tests, the cardiolipin reactions of the infants remained positive during 3 months of treatment, although clinical symptoms and Signs disappeared. 6)The response to treatment with procain penicillin resulted in improvement in the clinical symp- toms, but syphilitic bone changes and anemia were not remarkably improved. Bony changes became aggravated within one month of treatment and began to improve after 2 months of treatment and disappeared within 8 months from the begining of treatment in the most cases. 7)A Herxheimer reaction occured briefly during treatment with penicillin in only one case, it was not necessary to stop or modify the treatment. 8)8 out of the 12 patients had complications during or after treatment, 6 out of the 8 infants had pneumonia 4 cases expired, 3 of those died of pneumonia and the other one died of amebiasis.

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