Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39994067›Full record

ArticleJournal of epidemiology and global health2025

The Clinical Spectrum and Outcomes of Ocular Syphilis in Saudi Arabia: The Emergence of a Uveitic Masquerader.

Abrar A Alhawsawi, Abeer Aljahdali, Enas Magharbil, Asma Alzuabi, Abdulrahman F Albloushi, Dhoha Alhamad, Abrar K Alsalamah, Sulaiman M Alsulaiman, Fatimah Al Hammad, Moustafa S Magliyah and 1 more

Abstract readMulticenter Study
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of epidemiology and global health, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors.

Abrar A AlhawsawiVitreoretinal and Uveitis Divisions, King Khaled Eye Specialist Hospital, PO Box 7141, Riyadh, 11462, Saudi Arabia.
Abeer AljahdaliVitreoretinal and Uveitis Divisions, King Khaled Eye Specialist Hospital, PO Box 7141, Riyadh, 11462, Saudi Arabia.
Enas MagharbilVitreoretinal and Uveitis Divisions, King Khaled Eye Specialist Hospital, PO Box 7141, Riyadh, 11462, Saudi Arabia.
Asma AlzuabiOphthalmology Department, College of Medicine, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia.
Abdulrahman F AlbloushiDepartment of Ophthalmology, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Dhoha AlhamadUveitis Department, Dhahran Eye Specialist Hospital, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.
Abrar K AlsalamahVitreoretinal and Uveitis Divisions, King Khaled Eye Specialist Hospital, PO Box 7141, Riyadh, 11462, Saudi Arabia.
Sulaiman M AlsulaimanVitreoretinal and Uveitis Divisions, King Khaled Eye Specialist Hospital, PO Box 7141, Riyadh, 11462, Saudi Arabia.
Fatimah Al HammadUveitis Department, Dhahran Eye Specialist Hospital, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.
Moustafa S MagliyahVitreoretinal and Uveitis Divisions, King Khaled Eye Specialist Hospital, PO Box 7141, Riyadh, 11462, Saudi Arabia.
Hassan A Al-DhibiVitreoretinal and Uveitis Divisions, King Khaled Eye Specialist Hospital, PO Box 7141, Riyadh, 11462, Saudi Arabia. hdhibi@kkesh.med.sa.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

This retrospective multicenter cohort study aimed to describe the clinical features and report the outcomes of the management of ocular syphilis in Saudi Arabia. Thirty-three eyes of 19 patients with ocular syphilis were reviewed, including data on visual acuity, signs of anterior and posterior uveitis, systemic work-up, and treatment outcomes. A total of 38 eyes from 19 patients were examined, with 33 eyes showing manifestations of ocular syphilis. The majority of patients (89.5%; n = 17) were males, with an average age of 40.6 ± 12 years. About one half of the patients (52.6%; n = 10) reported previous unprotected sexual encounters, and 26.3% had positive human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) testing. Systemic manifestations of syphilis were observed in 68.4% of the patients. Fourteen patients (73.7%) had bilateral disease. At presentation, the average Log MAR visual acuity was 0.81 ± 0.80 (Snellen equivalent = 20/120). Anterior chamber inflammation was seen in 72.7% of eyes (n = 28 eyes), while posterior segment examination revealed vitritis in 48.5% (n = 18 eyes), hyperemic optic discs in 62.5% (n = 24 eyes), and vascular sheathing in 46.9% (n = 17 eyes). Placoid lesions were observed in 51.5% of eyes (n = 20 eyes). The most common ocular syphilitic phenotypes were acute syphilitic posterior placoid chorioretinitis (ASPPC) in 54.5% of eyes (n = 21 eyes) and necrotizing retinochoroiditis in 15.2% (n = 6 eyes). Treatment included intravenous penicillin G for 14 days in 12 patients, intramuscular penicillin G in 2 patients, and systemic ceftriaxone in 2 patients. All treated patients showed clinical improvement, with a mean follow-up duration of 6.5 ± 4.5 weeks and a significant improvement in mean Log MAR visual acuity to 0.23 ± 0.46 (Snellen equivalent = 20/30; P < 0.001). These findings highlight the emergence of ocular syphilis in Saudi Arabia and the need for ophthalmologists to recognize its diverse clinical and multimodal retinal imaging features to ensure timely diagnosis and treatment.

Indexed as

Eye Infections, BacterialSyphilisUveitisAdultAnti-Bacterial AgentsDiagnosis, DifferentialFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedRetrospective StudiesSaudi ArabiaTreatment OutcomeVisual AcuityAnti-Bacterial AgentsEye diseaseSaudi ArabiaSexually transmitted infectionsSyphilisUveitis

Identifiers

PMID39994067
PMCPMC11850686

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.