Proteinuria and Palmar Clues: Rediscovering the Renal Face of Syphilis

Syphilis is a sexually transmitted infection that remains prevalent in our population despite available curative treatment. Here, we present a case of a 35-year-old female with a presenting symptom of dry rash on multiple regions of her body. This rash was not initially identified as syphilis, and the patient's disease progressed to involve the kidney. This systemic manifestation of secondary syphilis led to a membranous nephropathy (MN). Following treatment of the underlying infection, the patient's symptoms and renal dysfunction fully resolved. This case highlights the wide-ranging impacts of syphilis as it continues to spread in our population, and that early recognition and targeted therapy can lead to favorable renal outcomes with a resolution of systemic manifestations.

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Publication Details

Journal
Cureus
Published
2025-05-29
DOI
https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.85031
Primary Topic
Syphilis Diagnosis and Treatment
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00
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article

Proteinuria and Palmar Clues: Rediscovering the Renal Face of Syphilis

Ronald L. Mars, Oshin Rai, Yasasvhinie Santharam, Rafik Jacob et al.
Cureus
Syphilis Diagnosis and Treatment
article

Proteinuria and Palmar Clues: Rediscovering the Renal Face of Syphilis

Ronald L. Mars, Oshin Rai, Yasasvhinie Santharam, Rafik Jacob, Shiguang Liu, Anvit D. Reddy, Alexis M Chrystman
article en

Abstract

Syphilis is a sexually transmitted infection that remains prevalent in our population despite available curative treatment. Here, we present a case of a 35-year-old female with a presenting symptom of dry rash on multiple regions of her body. This rash was not initially identified as syphilis, and the patient's disease progressed to involve the kidney. This systemic manifestation of secondary syphilis led to a membranous nephropathy (MN). Following treatment of the underlying infection, the patient's symptoms and renal dysfunction fully resolved. This case highlights the wide-ranging impacts of syphilis as it continues to spread in our population, and that early recognition and targeted therapy can lead to favorable renal outcomes with a resolution of systemic manifestations.

CureusVol. 17(5)
Jacksonville University (US)
Zero hunger
Openalex Percentile: Top 84%
Syphilis Diagnosis and Treatment
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