ArticleBMC public health2020
Prevalence of syphilis, neurosyphilis and associated factors in a cross-sectional analysis of HIV infected patients attending Bugando Medical Centre, Mwanza, Tanzania.
Article in BMC public health, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
20 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 32 citations in OpenAlex.
- High rates of Treponema pallidum, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Chlamydia trachomatis, or Trichomonas vaginalis co-infection in people with HIV: a systematic review and meta-analysis.European journal of clinical microbiology & infectious diseases : official publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology · 2025Pooled it
- Investigating latent syphilis in HIV treatment-experienced Ethiopians and response to therapy.PloS one · 2022Trial
- HIV and Syphilis Coinfection in Pregnancy and Adverse Birth Outcomes in Uganda.The Journal of infectious diseases · 2026Article
- Meningovascular neurosyphilis presenting as multifocal stroke in an HIV patient on ART: a diagnostic challenge in a resource-limited setting: case report and literature review.AIDS research and therapy · 2026Review
- Blood Culture-Negative Cardiovascular Syphilis in an Untreated HIV-Positive Man.The American journal of case reports · 2026Article
- Establishment of non-invasive diagnostic prediction model for HIV-positive asymptomatic neurosyphilis patients.BMC infectious diseases · 2025Article
- High prevalence of co-infections with latent tuberculosis, syphilis and hepatitis B and C among people with HIV in Ghana: a call for integrating screening into routine care.AIDS research and therapy · 2025Article
- The Association Between Syphilis Infection and HIV Acquisition and HIV Disease Progression in Sub-Saharan Africa.Tropical medicine and infectious disease · 2025Article
- Clinical, Radiological, and Pathological Features of Cerebral and Spinal Syphilitic Gumma: A Cross-Sectional Study.International journal of general medicine · 2025Article
- Research progress on the mechanisms of neurosyphilis' impact on cognitive function, early identification, and prevention strategies.Frontiers in neurology · 2025Review
- Novel and characteristic radiological features of neurosyphilis: a case series.BMC neurology · 2024Article
- Clinical and Laboratory Characteristics, Diagnosis, and Treatment of Patients with Neurosyphilis in Emergency Department: A Retrospective Study of 12 Patients.Infection and drug resistance · 2024Article
- Article
- Sero-prevalence of syphilis infection among people living with HIV in Sierra Leone: a cross-sectional nationwide hospital-based study.BMC infectious diseases · 2023Article
- Metabolic syndrome among people living with HIV on antiretroviral therapy in Mwanza, Tanzania.BMC endocrine disorders · 2023Article
- MRI of neurosyphilis with mesiotemporal lobe lesions of "knife-cut sign" on MRI: A case report and literature review.Heliyon · 2023Article
- Neurosyphilis: insights into its pathogenesis, susceptibility, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention.Frontiers in neurology · 2023Review
- Clinical and immunological characteristics of HIV/syphilis co-infected patients following long-term antiretroviral treatment.Frontiers in public health · 2023Article
- An Updated Review of Recent Advances in Neurosyphilis.Frontiers in medicine · 2022Review
- Otosyphilis: A rare cause of acute bilateral sensorineural hearing loss in a HIV-negative patient.SA journal of radiology · 2022Article
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundHIV-syphilis co-infection can enhance the rapid progression of early or late latent syphilis to neurosyphilis and can cause catastrophic neurological complications. In studies in Mwanza, syphilis affects ~ 8% of healthy outpatients and studies done in the 1990s have suggested that up to 23.5% of HIV-syphilis co-infected patients also have neurosyphilis. METHODOLOGY: This was a cross sectional study in which adult HIV infected patients who were hospitalized or attending the outpatient Care and Treatment Clinic (CTC) were interviewed using a structured questionnaire and screened for syphilis using serum Treponema Pallidum Hemagglutination Assay (TPHA). Blood was also taken for CD4+ T cells and viral load. Those who were found to have syphilis underwent neurological examination for any neurologic deficit and were offered a lumbar puncture.
resultsThe prevalence of syphilis in HIV infected patients was found to be 9.6%. The majority of patients were female (72.5%) and median age was 42 years [interquartile range, 32-50]. Most patients were on ART (99.4%). In the study population of 1748 participants, 9.6% were TPHA positive; the majority (89.2%) reported not knowing their syphilis status and not previously been treated. One hundred and forty-one participants with syphilis had neurological examinations performed. Four of these had abnormal findings that necessitated a lumbar puncture. Neurosyphilis was confirmed in one patient (0.7%).
conclusionThe high prevalence of syphilis in HIV infected patients indicates that there is a need to increase efforts in targeting this population to reduce sexually transmitted infections. Screening for syphilis should be done for all HIV patients given the high prevalence of the infection and the risk that aggressive forms of neurosyphilis can occur despite recovery of CD4+ T cell counts in untreated syphilis.
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