Warning:

This document is being maintained for historical purposes, but is now out of date. To view current guidelines please visit:

• STD Treatment Guidelines   at http://www.cdc.gov/STD/treatment

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1993 Sexually Transmitted Diseases Treatment Guidelines

09/24/1993

SUGGESTED CITATION
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 1993 Sexually
transmitted diseases treatment guidelines. MMWR 1993;42(No. RR-14):
{inclusive page numbers}.

CIO Responsible for this publication:
National Center for Prevention Services,
Division of Sexually Transmitted Diseases and HIV Prevention

Background -
     
     Syphilis is a systemic disease caused by T. pallidum. Patients
with syphilis may seek treatment for signs or symptoms of primary
infection (ulcer or chancre at site of infection), secondary
infection (manifestations that include rash, mucocutaneous lesions,
and adenopathy), or tertiary infection (cardiac, neurologic,
ophthalmic, auditory, or gummatous lesions). Infections also may be
detected during the latent stage by serologic testing. Patients
with latent syphilis who are known to have been infected within the
preceding year are considered to have early latent syphilis; others
have late latent syphilis or syphilis of unknown duration.
Theoretically, treatment for late latent syphilis (as well as
tertiary syphilis) requires therapy of longer duration because
organisms are dividing more slowly; however, the validity of this
division and its timing are unproven.

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