Cerebral syphilitic gumma masquerading as cerebral metastatic tumors: case report.

A 45-year-old man was admitted with severe headache and left-sided weakness, which worsened over 1 week. Brain imaging revealed a small lesion close to the sagittal sinus in the right frontal lobe with severe perilesional edema and showed enhancement on both CT and MRI obtained with contrast. Serological findings were positive for toluidine red unheated serum test (TRUST) positivity and Treponema pallidum particle agglutination assay. The patient was first suspected of having a malignant brain tumor and subsequently received emergency craniotomy. Brain biopsy suggested a diagnosis of syphilitic cerebral gumma; meanwhile the postoperative CSF TRUST titer was positive, and the patient's improvement with high-dose intravenous aqueous crystalline penicillin further supported this etiology. Finally, the lesion on the right frontal lobe had disappeared during the follow-up imaging examination and the myodynamia of the left limbs gradually improved. The authors recommend that diagnostic penicillin treatment should be first implemented. When a patient's history, clinical manifestations, syphilis serology, CSF examination, and other physiological changes indicate a diagnosis of syphilitic cerebral gumma, there is no doubt that surgery should be performed in patients with acute intracranial hypertension, but unnecessary craniotomy should be avoided as far as possible.

Advantages and limitations of current diagnostic laboratory approaches in syphilis and congenital syphilis.

INTRODUCTION: The reemergence of syphilis, especially congenital syphilis, presents a significant public health threat. Accurate diagnosis of syphilis depends on recognition of a constellation of symptoms, review of medical and sexual history, and multiple laboratory tests. While reliable, current tests for syphilis can be difficult to interpret, which can lead to delays in treatment. AREA COVERED: This review summarizes the major advantages and limitations of available diagnostic laboratory methods for syphilis, provides an update on recent advances in laboratory tools, and highlights the urgent need for coordinated efforts to create new tools to halt the resurgence of syphilis. EXPERT OPINION: In syphilis, the wide variety of short-lived signs and symptoms followed by periods of latency create diagnostic challenges. Currently available laboratory tests, when positive, require additional information to interpret (prior testing, treatment, and sexual history). Point-of-care tests that can rapidly and accurately detect both treponemal and non-treponemal antibodies would be a huge step toward reducing test turnaround time and time to treatment. Incorporating biological insights and technology innovations to advance the development of direct detection assays is urgently needed. A comprehensive coordinated effort is critical to stem the tide of rising syphilis in the United States and globally.

Optimal detection of extended-spectrum ß-lactamase producers, carbapenemase producers, polymyxin-resistant Enterobacterales, and vancomycin-resistant enterococci from stools.

This study compared the impact of different approaches, namely, nonenrichment, nonselective enrichment, and selective (antibiotic-containing) enrichment steps, for detecting extended-spectrum ß-lactamase producing Enterobacterales (ESBL-E), carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales (CPE), polymyxin-resistant Enterobacterales (PMR-E), and vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) from spiked stools. The use of a nonselective 18-h enrichment broth culture significantly improved the recovery rate of all types of resistant bacteria after their plating onto selective media. In addition, the detection of ESBL-E, CPE, PMR-E, and VRE was further improved when using an enrichment step using antibiotic-supplemented broths respectively supplemented with cefotaxime (0.1 µg/mL), ertapenem (0.1 µg/mL), colistin (0.5 µg/mL), and vancomycin (1 µg/mL). Therefore, we showed here that a screening strategy based on a selective broth enrichment step significantly contributes to an increased rate of detection of multidrug-resistant bacteria, which may be crucial in term of improvement of infection control.

Development of a syphilis serum bank to support research, development, and evaluation of syphilis diagnostic tests in the United States.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Division of STD Prevention, in collaboration with the Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL), is developing a nationally available syphilis serum repository for research of Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-cleared or investigational syphilis diagnostic assays in the United States. State and local public health laboratories (PHL) submitted de-identified residual sera with information on collection date, volume, storage conditions, freeze-thaw cycles, PHL serology results, reported syphilis stage and demographic details if available. Previous test results were blinded and sera (N = 152 reported syphilis stage, N = 131 unknown status) were tested at CDC using five FDA-cleared and one investigational syphilis tests. Treponemal and nontreponemal test sensitivity ranged from 76.3-100% and 63.2-100%, respectively, among staged specimens. The conventional treponemal assays showed high concordance of 95.4%. By providing syphilis stage and comprehensive serological test data, developed repository may serve as a valuable resource for diagnostic test validation studies.

Limited efficacy of nontreponemal test combined with treponemal test in the initial syphilis screening algorithm.

PURPOSE: Various syphilis screening algorithms have been proposed and are now used by many clinical laboratories following the introduction of automated treponemal tests (TTs). In France, the diagnosis of syphilis is based on a TT combined with a nontreponemal test (NTT). The objective of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic impact of NTT on initial syphilis screening at the Amiens University Hospital between January 2013 and December 2016. METHODOLOGY: Serum samples sent for syphilis testing were analysed using a treponemal enzyme immunoassay (Siemens IMMULITE 2000 Syphilis Screen) combined with a nontreponemal test. Enzyme immunoassay (EIA)-reactive and/or nontreponemal-reactive samples were titrated to endpoint using the Treponema pallidum particle agglutination test (TPHA). Complementary tests, such as line immunoassay, and medical charts were reviewed to categorize reactive samples into positive or negative syphilis contacts. RESULTS: Among 15 523 initial screening samples, 148 samples (0.95 %) were reactive with the combined TT and NTT, and 335 (2.16 %) and 66 (0.42 %) were reactive with TT or NTT only. Analysis of the 66 discordant results between TT and NTT showed that only 4 sera were reactive with a second-line TPHA, but these results were not confirmed by line immunoassay and patient characteristics. CONCLUSION: The results of this study show that the combination of NTT and TT for initial screening does not provide any diagnostic gain, but represents additional laboratory work time.

Frecuencia de solicitud y prevalencia de reactividad de la prueba no treponémica (VDRL) en pacientes con aborto en el Hospital Local del Norte de Bucaramanga, Colombia / Frequency of nontreponemal testing (VDRL) and prevalence of test reactivity in patients with miscarriage at Hospital Local del Norte in Bucaramanga, Colombia

Introducción: la adherencia a las recomendaciones para la tamización de sífilis en mujeres gestantes es fundamental en la prevención de lúes congénita. El objetivo de este estudio fue estimar la frecuencia de solicitud de prueba no treponémica y reactividad en mujeres que cursan con aborto.Materiales y métodos: estudio de corte transversal basado en el registro de pacientes que atendieron a la consulta de urgencias de obstetricia del Hospital Local del Norte de Bucaramanga entre enero 1º y diciembre 31 de 2011, y que tuvieron un diagnóstico de aborto. En estas pacientes se determinó la prevalencia de solicitud de la prueba no treponémica (VDRL), así como de resultados reactivos.Resultados: en el periodo de estudio se identificaron 233 mujeres con diagnóstico confirmado de aborto. La edad promedio fue de 24,2 ± 7,3 años, con una edad gestacional de 9,1 ± 3,3 semanas. Se documentó evidencia de solicitud de prueba no treponémica en 135 pacientes (57,9%; IC 95%: 51,6-64,3) de las cuales 5 (3,7%; IC 95%: 0,5-6,9) tuvieron resultados reactivos: 1 con títulos de 1:2; 3 con títulos de 1:4, y 1 con títulos de 1:32.Conclusión: pese a las recomendaciones vigentes, la prevalencia de solicitud de prueba no treponémica en pacientes con aborto es baja. Lo anterior evidencia la necesidad de concientizar al personal de salud acerca de la importancia de cumplir a cabalidad el protocolo de atención a la gestante.

Introduction: Adherence to the recommendations for syphilis screening in pregnant women is critical for congenital syphilis prevention. The objective of this study was to estimate the frequency of nontreponemal test orders and prevalence of test reactivity in women with miscarriage.Materials and methods: Cross-sectional study based on the registry of patients coming to the obstetrical emergency service at Hospital Local del Norte, Bucaramanga, between January 1st and December 31st, 2011, diagnosed with miscarriage. The prevalence of nontreponemal testing (VDRL) orders as well as of reactive results was assessed in these patients.Results: During the study period, 233 women were identified to have a confirmed miscarriage. The mean age was 24.2 ± 7.3 and the mean gestational age was 9.1 ± 3.3 weeks. Evidence for nontreponemal test orders was documented in 135 patients (57.9%; CI 95%: 51.6-64.3); of them, 5 (3.7%; CI 95%: 0.5-6.9) had reactive results: 1 with 1:2 titres; 3 with 1:4 titres and 1 with 1:32 titres.Conclusion: Despite existing recommendations, the prevalence of nontreponemal test orders in patients with miscarriage is low. This points to the need to create awareness among the staff about the importance of following closely the protocol for the care of pregnant patients.