Case Reports in Gastroenterology (Sep 2022)

Cholestatic Liver Injury in a Patient with Tertiary Syphilis

  • Sahaj Mujumdar,
  • Jason Goldenberg,
  • Steven Bieser,
  • Alice S. Pang,
  • Robert Coben

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1159/000526247
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 16, no. 3
pp. 552 – 556

Abstract

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Syphilis is a common infection that has variable presentations. We report a rare case of a 64-year-old male with 3 weeks of abdominal pain, back pain, and neurologic deficits including memory impairment who was found to have neurosyphilis causing a cholestatic liver injury. Workup included a positive rapid plasma reagin (RPR) and enzyme immunoassay (EIA), a positive cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) venereal disease research laboratory (VDRL), and a liver biopsy, which was compatible with a diagnosis of syphilitic hepatitis. Completion of a 14-day course of penicillin and 1 month of physical therapy resulted in near full-functional and biochemical recovery.

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