Malignant syphilis in a patient infected by human immunodeficiency virus. Case report and literature review

Malignant syphilis in a patient infected by human immunodeficiency virus. Case report and literature review Malignant syphilis is a rare form of secondary syphilis strongly associated with human immunodeficiency virus infection (HIV). This clinical form of the disease is characterized by atypical cutaneous ulcerative and disseminated lesions and systemic compromise that can delay the final diagnosis. There are only few reports in the medical literature about malignant lues in HIV-infected patients. Malignant syphilis should be considered in the differential diagnosis in HIV-infected patients with fever and ulcerative skin lesions. Here we describe a man who developed clinical cutaneous and systemic manifestations pathologically confirmed as malignant syphilis and we performed a review of the literature.