Pulmonary syphilis with a cicatricial variant of organizing pneumonia: a case report.
Cicatricial variant of organizing pneumonia
Lung
Syphilis
Treponema pallidum
Journal
BMC pulmonary medicine
ISSN: 1471-2466
Titre abrégé: BMC Pulm Med
Pays: England
ID NLM: 100968563
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
18 May 2023
18 May 2023
Historique:
received:
22
11
2022
accepted:
04
05
2023
medline:
19
5
2023
pubmed:
18
5
2023
entrez:
17
5
2023
Statut:
epublish
Résumé
Syphilis is a chronic disease that progresses in the primary, secondary, latent, and tertiary stages. Pulmonary manifestations of syphilis are rare, and their histological features have not been well-described. A 78-year-old man was referred to our hospital because of a solitary nodular shadow in the right middle lung field on a chest radiograph. Five years prior, a rash appeared on both legs. He was tested for syphilis at a public health center, and the non-treponemal test result was negative. When he was approximately 35 years old, he had unspecified sexual intercourse. Chest computed tomography showed a 13-mm nodule with a cavity in S6 of the right lower lobe of the lung. Robot-assisted resection of the right lower lobe was performed because of suspected localized right lower lobe lung cancer. A cicatricial variant of organizing pneumonia (CiOP) was observed, and immunohistochemistry identified Treponema pallidum inside the macrophages in the nodule cavity. The rapid plasma regain (RPR) value was negative, and the Treponema pallidum hemagglutination assay was positive. The patient was diagnosed as having secondary syphilis with pulmonary involvement. Insidious progression of secondary syphilis may result in CiOP and a negative RPR test result. We report the first case of pulmonary syphilis with a histological pattern of CiOP. It may be asymptomatic and difficult to diagnose because the RPR test may be negative for a long period of time. When either non-treponemal or treponemal test results are positive, the possibility of pulmonary syphilis should be considered along with appropriate medical treatment.
Sections du résumé
BACKGROUND
BACKGROUND
Syphilis is a chronic disease that progresses in the primary, secondary, latent, and tertiary stages. Pulmonary manifestations of syphilis are rare, and their histological features have not been well-described.
CASE PRESENTATION
METHODS
A 78-year-old man was referred to our hospital because of a solitary nodular shadow in the right middle lung field on a chest radiograph. Five years prior, a rash appeared on both legs. He was tested for syphilis at a public health center, and the non-treponemal test result was negative. When he was approximately 35 years old, he had unspecified sexual intercourse. Chest computed tomography showed a 13-mm nodule with a cavity in S6 of the right lower lobe of the lung. Robot-assisted resection of the right lower lobe was performed because of suspected localized right lower lobe lung cancer. A cicatricial variant of organizing pneumonia (CiOP) was observed, and immunohistochemistry identified Treponema pallidum inside the macrophages in the nodule cavity. The rapid plasma regain (RPR) value was negative, and the Treponema pallidum hemagglutination assay was positive. The patient was diagnosed as having secondary syphilis with pulmonary involvement. Insidious progression of secondary syphilis may result in CiOP and a negative RPR test result.
CONCLUSIONS
CONCLUSIONS
We report the first case of pulmonary syphilis with a histological pattern of CiOP. It may be asymptomatic and difficult to diagnose because the RPR test may be negative for a long period of time. When either non-treponemal or treponemal test results are positive, the possibility of pulmonary syphilis should be considered along with appropriate medical treatment.
Identifiants
pubmed: 37198568
doi: 10.1186/s12890-023-02469-6
pii: 10.1186/s12890-023-02469-6
pmc: PMC10191682
doi:
Types de publication
Case Reports
Journal Article
Langues
eng
Sous-ensembles de citation
IM
Pagination
170Informations de copyright
© 2023. The Author(s).
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