Syphilis is an infectious venereal disease caused by the spirochete Treponema pallidum. Syphilis is transmissible by se.ual contact with infectious lesions, from mother to fetus in utero, via blood product transfusion, and occasionally through breaks in the skin that come into contact with infectious lesions. If untreated, it progresses through 4 stages: primary, secondary, latent, and tertiary.
Syphilis has a myriad of presentations and can mimic many other infections and immune-mediated processes in advanced stages. Hence, it has earned the nickname “the great impostor.” The complex and variable manifestations of the disease prompted Sir William Osler to remark, “The physician who knows syphilis knows medicine.”
Many famous personages throughout history are thought to have suffered from syphilis, including Bram Stoker, Henry VIII, and Vincent Van Gogh. Since the discovery of penicillin in the mid-20th century, the spread of this once very common disease has been largely controlled, but efforts to eradicate the disease entirely have been unsuccessful.
Syphilis has a myriad of presentations and can mimic many other infections and immune-mediated processes in advanced stages. Hence, it has earned the nickname “the great impostor.” The complex and variable manifestations of the disease prompted Sir William Osler to remark, “The physician who knows syphilis knows medicine.”
Many famous personages throughout history are thought to have suffered from syphilis, including Bram Stoker, Henry VIII, and Vincent Van Gogh. Since the discovery of penicillin in the mid-20th century, the spread of this once very common disease has been largely controlled, but efforts to eradicate the disease entirely have been unsuccessful.
Source : emedicine.medscape.com
Nursing Care Plan for Syphilis
Nursing Assessment for Syphilis
- Physical examination
- General condition
- Awareness, nutritional status, TB, BB, temperature, BP, pulse, respiration.
- Systemic Examination
Head (eyes, nose, ears, teeth and mouth), neck (there are enlarged thyroid), neck, chest (inspection, palpation, percussion, auscultation), genitalia, upper and lower extremities. - Supplementary Examination
Laboratory tests (blood chemistry, urea, creatinine, blood glucose, urinalysis, routine blood).
Nursing Diagnosis and Nursing Interventions for Syphilis
