VIDEO: These steps could help diagnose more syphilis cases

ByStephen I. Feller

ByIna Park, MD, MS

Fact checked byCarol L. DiBerardino, MLA, ELS

DENVER — Syphilis is often asymptomatic. Increased testing of at-risk patients — especially if a new rash or welt is spotted on their body — could help catch more cases, an expert said here.

In this video from the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections, Ina Park, MD, professor of family community medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, talks at about the difficulty of diagnosing syphilis, which “can look like anything or really nothing.”

Park outlines some steps that could help catch more cases, including increasing the use of cheap tests.

Rates of syphilis have surged in the United States in recent years, including a 17% increase in cases of all stages from 2021 to 2022 and a 30.6% increase in congenital syphilis in that same time.

Reference:

Park I. Why can’t we do better at diagnosing syphilis? Presented at: Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections; March 3-6, 2024; Denver.

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Source:

Healio Interviews

Disclosures: Park reports no relevant disclosures.

Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI)

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VIDEO: These steps could help diagnose more syphilis cases

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