Syphilis and human immunodeficiency virus infection: An endemic infection in men who have sex with men

Objective: to analyse epidemiological, clinical, and analytical features of HIV-infected men who have sex with men (MSM) diagnosed with syphilis in the Infectious Diseases Unit (Hospital Virgen de la Victoria, Malaga, Spain) during 2004-2013. Patients and methods: An observational study was conducted on 196 syphilis episodes in 167 MSM infected with HIV (2004-2013). Epidemiological, clinical, and analytical data were collected. Annual syphilis incidence among HIV-MSM is calculated as the number of syphilis episodes among MSM in one year divided by the number of MSM followed up in that year. Results: Incidence ranged from 1.2% (2007) to 7.8% (2012). There were asymptomatic episodes in 42.8% cases, and an HIV-syphilis coincident diagnosis in 28.5%. Conclusions: The annual incidence of syphilis has increased within HIV infected MSM. One third of the syphilis episodes were simultaneous to HIV diagnosis and near half of them were asymptomatic. (C) 2014 Elsevier Espana, S.L.U. and Sociedad Espanola de Enfermedades Infecciosas y Microbiologia Clinica. All rights reserved.