Complications of Syphilis

Complications list for Syphilis: The list of complications that have been mentioned in various sources for Syphilis includes:

• Complications for a pregnant mother with syphilis (see Pregnancy symptoms)
  • Mother-infant transmission (see Birth symptoms) - 40-70% of newborns will have congenital syphilis.
  • Congenital syphilis - a condition causing various newborn defects; see symptoms of congenital syphilis
  • Stillbirth (see Birth symptoms) - about 1% of cases
  • Neonatal death (see Death)
  • Birth defects
• Heart abnormalities (see Heart symptoms)
• Mental disorders
• Blindness
• Neurosyphilis - occurs in about 3-7% of untreated syphilis cases.
• Neurological problems (see Cognitive impairment)
• Death
• Tabes dorsalis
• Artery disease
• Aneurysms

Complications of Syphilis: About 3 to 7 percent of persons with untreated syphilis develop neurosyphilis, when the bacteria invade the nervous system during the early stages of infection. There may or may not be symptoms like headache, stiff neck, fever from tissue inflammation, seizures, or even symptoms of stroke with resulting numbness, weakness, or visual complaints.¹

Footnotes:
1. excerpt from Syphilis: NWHIC

Last revision: June 18, 2003

Medical Tools & Articles:

Next articles:

• Risk Factor Center
• Medical Statistics Center
• Medical Treatment Center
• Prevention Center
• Medical Tests Center

• Disease & Treatments Search
• Online Diagnosis
• Misdiagnosis Center
• Full list of interesting articles