Manifest Form of Congenital Syphilis in Combination with Mycoplasma Infection in a Newborn Child: Case Report

Background. Congenital syphilis is an intrauterine infection characterized by multiple organ damage with severe consequences leading to disability. Transmission of infection from mother to fetus can occur in utero through the placenta or during childbirth through direct contact with the infected birth canal of the mother. Early congenital syphilis in children under 2 years of age can occur in a latent form without clinical signs with positive serological reactions and in a manifest form with variable clinical symptoms. For the prevention of congenital syphilis, it is extremely important to screen pregnant women for the presence of the causative agent of the disease, as well as timely and full-fledged treatment of expectant mothers in case of positive results, which in most cases avoids infection of the fetus.

Case Report. In the presented case report, a premature baby was born to a woman with untreated syphilis, confirmed serologically by a blood test at late pregnancy. From birth, the child showed signs of intrauterine infection with predominant liver damage. Pneumonia was diagnosed on the 7th day of life. X-ray examination of the tubular bones revealed signs of osteochondritis. Serological diagnostics revealed positive test results for syphilis and mycoplasmosis. The child received complex therapy (etiotropic, pathogenetic, symptomatic), against which positive dynamics was noted.

Conclusion. In the described case report, infection of the fetus with Treponema pallidum and the manifestation of early congenital syphilis in the neonatal period in an active clinical form is probably due to the lack of preventive treatment of the mother during pregnancy. The presented data confirm the importance of the prevention of congenital syphilis, which should consist in the timely detection and treatment of the disease in expectant mothers.

1. Klinicheskie rekomendatsii po diagnostike, lecheniyu i profilaktike vrozhdennogo sifilisa. Russian Association of Perinatal Medicine Specialists. Moscow; 2016. 35 p. (In Russ).

2. Surganova VI, Polyakova NV, Levchik NK, et al. K probleme diagnostiki rannego vrozhdennogo sifilisa: analiz klinicheskogo sluchaya. Lechashchi Vrach Journal. 2021;(1):20–23. (In Russ). doi: https://doi.org/10.26295/OS.2021.43.20.004

3. Sankaran D, Partridge E, Lakshminrusimha S. Congenital Syphilis-An Illustrative Review. Children (Basel). 2023;10(8):1310. doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/children10081310

4. Fang J, Partridge E, Bautista GM, Sankaran D. Congenital Syphilis Epidemiology, Prevention, and Management in the United States: A 2022 Update. Cureus. 2022;14(12):33009. doi: https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.33009

5. Neonatologiya: National guide. Volodin NN, Degtyarev DN, eds. Moscow: GEOTAR-Media; 2023. 752 p. (In Russ).

6. Committee on Infectious Diseases, American Academy of Pediatrics. Red Book 2021–2024: Report of the Committee on Infectious Diseases. Kimberlin DW, Barnett ED, Lynfield R, Sawyer MH, eds. Itasca, IL, USA: American Academy of Pediatrics; 2021.

7. Infektsii, peredavaemye polovym putem. Akovbyan VA, Prokhorenkov VI, Sokolovskii EV, eds. Moscow: Media Sfera; 2007. 744 p. (In Russ).

8. Родионов А.Н. Сифилис. — СПб.: Питер; 2007. — 320 с. [Rodionov AN. Sifilis. St. Petersburg: Piter; 2007. 320 p. (In Russ).]

9. Despiller T, Dranovskii VL. Sluchai vrozhdennogo sifilisa s neblagopriyatnym iskhodom. Public Health of the Far East. 2003;(3):103–104. (In Russ).

10. Khokhlova AP, Komarova AA, Sarkisyan EA, et al. A clinical case of early congenital syphilis. Detskie Infektsii = Children’s Infections. 2024;23(2):61–68. (In Russ). doi: https://doi.org/10.22627/2072-8107-202423-2-61-68

11. Kurbanov AA, Bogdanova EV. Dermatovenereology of Russian Federation in 2020: Working Under a Pandemic. Vestnik dermatologii i venerologii. 2021;97(2):8–32. (In Russ). doi: https://doi.org/10.25208/vdv1261

12. Kokoreva SP, Kuprina NP, Karpacheva TA, et al. The state of health of children born to mothers with syphilis. Detskie Infektsii = Children’s Infections. 2006;5(1):67–70. (In Russ).

13. Wong SP, Yin YP, Gao X, et al. Risk of syphilis in STI clinic patients: A cross-sectional study of 11 500 cases in Guangxi, China. Sex Transm Infect. 2007;83(5):351–356. doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/sti.2007.025015

14. Taiwo SS, Adesiji YO, Adekanle DA. Screening for syphilis during pregnancy in Nigeria: a practice that must continue. Sex Transm Infect. 2007;83(5):357–358. doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/sti.2006.023416

15. Sifilis: Clinical guidelines. Russian Society of Dermatovenerologists and Cosmetologists. 2024. 85 p. (In Russ).