Acute syphilitic meningitis in an HIV-infected patient

Alex Wagemakers; Dagmar Hepp; Joep Killestein; Laura Peferoen; Wim Ang

doi:10.1016/j.idcr.2018.e00423

Acute syphilitic meningitis in an HIV-infected patient

IDCases. 2018 Jul 7:13:e00423. doi: 10.1016/j.idcr.2018.e00423. eCollection 2018.

Authors

Alex Wagemakers¹, Dagmar Hepp², Joep Killestein², Laura Peferoen³, Wim Ang¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Medical Microbiology and Infection Prevention, VU medical center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
² Department of Neurology, VU medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
³ Department of Pathology, VU medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Abstract

We present a case of acute syphilitic meningitis in a 28-year old HIV-infected patient, presenting with a seizure. MRI revealed a meningeal lesion with cortical involvement, and the patient described previous treatment for syphilis. Final diagnosis was established by PCR and spirochete staining on a brain biopsy, upon which the patient was successfully treated with benzylpenicillin.

Keywords: MSM, men who have sex with men; Meningitis; Syphilis; Treponema pallidum.