Abstract
Purpose :
According to the Center for Disease Control, in the United States there has been a rise of syphilis infections over the past decade. Ocular syphilis is a potentially blinding disease if not diagnosed and treated in a timely fashion. This study aims to describe the risk factors, presentation, and prevalence of this resurfacing disease.
Methods :
A retrospective chart review was performed on patients with diagnosis codes correlating with syphilis or syphilis-related ocular diseases at Boston Medical Center, an urban teaching hospital, between 2010 and 2019.
Results :
A total of 229 patients tested positive for syphilis and 40 patients were diagnosed with ocular syphilis. Among patients with ocular syphilis, approximately 50% had 20/60 vision or better. Nearly 50% had anterior uveitis as their initial presentation and 49% patients had involvement of the posterior segment. Neovascular glaucoma, papillitis, vasculitis, and retinal detachment were rarer presentations of the disease.
Conclusions :
This study provides insight to be able to recognize the ocular manifestations of this resurgent disease in order to facilitate earlier diagnosis and treatment and to minimize the ocular morbidities associated with ocular syphilis. More studies on ocular syphilis are warranted to understand the broader scope of this disease.
This is a 2020 ARVO Annual Meeting abstract.