Congenital syphilis

Congenital syphilis is one of the forms of the disease in which intrauterine infection of the fetus occurs with syphilis during pregnancy from a sick mother. Pale treponema damages the placental barrier, the child is born already sick. It is not a fact that the baby is born and will live. According to medical statistics, more than 40% of such pregnancies result in miscarriages, premature births, intrauterine fetal death or the death of a child in his first hours of life.

Given the frequency of manifestations of clinical and subjective signs of congenital syphilis, it is advisable to distinguish certain periods of the disease:

1. Syphilis of the fetus (pre-birth period).
2. Early congenital syphilis (from birth to 4 years).
3. Late congenital syphilis (from 5 to 17 years).

Symptoms of early congenital syphilis

Even before the emergence of external clinical signs, congenital syphilis in a child can be suspected by its general condition. Such children are very weak, their skin is pale gray, they gain weight poorly, they have no appetite, digestion is upset, the body temperature rises without reason.

Congenital syphilis manifests itself as a total defeat: the brain, skin and mucous membranes, most organs and systems of the body. External signs of congenital syphilis begin to appear after a few days / weeks / months after the birth of the baby:

1. Syphilitic pemphigus develops. Serous-purulent (sometimes bloody) blisters appear on the palms and soles, then spread throughout the body.
2. 2-3 months after birth, the skin is affected by multiple diffuse syphilitic infiltrates of copper-red color.
3. Over time, infiltrates acquire a dense consistency and crack, leaving a radiant scars.
4. There are extensive or limited eruptions in the form of roseola, papules and / or pustules.
5. The general condition of the toddler is heavy: the body temperature rises, syphilitic rhinitis appears, the nasal septum is deformed and destroyed, the musculoskeletal system is affected.
6. The liver and spleen are enlarged and compacted, the stomach is swollen, syphilitic pneumonia arises, kidneys, heart, nervous system, gastrointestinal tract are affected.

Characteristics of early congenital syphilis in children older than 1 year:

• condylomas around the anus;
• mopping papular rashes in the folds;
• nodes of dense consistency (gum) in the subcutaneous tissue;
• increased brittleness of bones;
• epileptic seizures;
• chronic meningitis;
• mental retardation ;
• visual impairment;
• baldness.

Late congenital syphilis and its symptoms

Late congenital syphilis develops due to improperly treated, untreated or untreated early form of the disease. Three classic subjective symptoms of late congenital syphilis:

• barrel-shaped teeth with a notch along the bottom edge;
• inflammation of the cornea of ​​the eyes;
• deafness caused by the defeat of the ear maze.

In late congenital syphilis, clinical signs are observed, characteristic of other diseases: an elongated skull with high temples, a gothic sky, tibia bent in the shape of an arc (saber-like shins). Due to the defeat of the nervous system, the child is almost always mentally retarded, his speech is broken and there are other disorders of the central nervous system.

Treatment of congenital syphilis

Treatment of congenital syphilis is possible only with the help of antibacterial therapy, in particular, multiple studies have confirmed that pale treponema is most unstable with respect to antibiotics from the penicillin group. To relieve the symptoms of congenital syphilis, a 10-day course of penicillins is usually required.

For complete cure of early congenital syphilis, 6 such courses are necessary, with late congenital syphilis - 8 courses. In addition to basic treatment, patients require good care, proper vitaminized nutrition, adjustment of feeding regimes, sleep and wakefulness.