Both the incidence and prevalence of syphilitic uveitis increased in the United States from 2013 to 2024, with low vision and blindness being the most common ocular complications.
Between 2013 and 2024, syphilitic uveitis remained a rare but serious manifestation of syphilis in the United States, predominantly affecting men, older individuals, and patients with concurrent HIV, and frequently resulting in low vision and blindness.
Researchers analyzed data from a national clinical database to determine the incidence and prevalence of syphilitic uveitis in the United States, as well as the rates of sexually transmitted coinfections and associated ocular complications. Participants with syphilitic uveitis were identified using diagnostic codes for uveitis and positive treponemal and nontreponemal test for syphilis obtained within 1 month of a diagnosis of uveitis. Data collection included demographic information and rates of concurrent sexually transmitted infections, including HIV, gonorrhea, and chlamydia; these infections were recorded if diagnosed at the time of, or within 1 month after, a diagnosis of uveitis. Ocular complications included macular edema and low vision or blindness, identified at the time of a diagnosis of uveitis or within 6 months thereafter.The researchers identified 161,317 cases of syphilis and 237 cases of syphilitic uveitis; from 2013 to 2024, the cumulative incidence and prevalence rates of syphilitic uveitis were 0.36 and 0.27 per 100,000 individuals, respectively, with both incidence and prevalence increasing over this period. Compared with the general population in the same database, patients with syphilitic uveitis were more likely to be men and older. HIV was the most common concurrent sexually transmitted infection, occurring in 32.49% of cases; gonorrhea and chlamydia occurred less frequently, at 4.22%.“Our findings reinforce the need for ordering syphilis testing at uveitis presentation and the prompt initiation of intravenous antibiotic therapy thereafter to prevent irreversible ocular damage,” the researchers wrote.The study was led by Lucy Ruoxi Zhou, of the Drexel University College of Medicine in Philadelphia. It was publishedThe reliance on electronic health record databases may have introduced coding variability and inaccuracies. The requirement for syphilis testing to occur within 1 month after a diagnosis of uveitis potentially excluded patients tested before or on the same day as their diagnosis or those experiencing diagnostic delays longer than 1 month. This study could not assess prescribed treatments and changes in clinical endpoints, including improvement in vision or resolution of macular edema after treatment.This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.All material on this website is protected by copyright, Copyright © 1994-2025 by WebMD LLC. This website also contains material copyrighted by 3rd parties.
Blindness Macular Edema Macular Oedema Chlamydial Infection Chlamydia Edema Gonorrhea Sexually Transmitted Disease STD STI Sexually Transmitted Infection Sexually Transmitted Disease (STD) Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI) Syphilis Artificial Intelligence Deep Learning AI NPL Machine Learning ML Natural Language Processing Artificial Neural Networks Data Collection
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