The Great Imitator: The Many Faces of Syphilitic Skin Presentations.

We report the case of a 22-year-old heterosexual man presenting with a pruritic rash to the sexual health clinic. He was initially suspected of having a fungal rash by his general practitioner (GP) and treated with antifungals unsuccessfully. Subsequent testing revealed an active infection with Treponema pallidum. This was complicated by the concurrent fungal infection of the penile skin resulting in multiple lesions, requiring both antibiotic and antifungal treatment. With this case report, we hope to raise awareness amongst clinicians in non-traditional settings of the uncommon ways in which syphilis can present and to always consider it as a differential diagnosis, particularly in less likely populations.

Multiple drug allergy syndrome in pregnancy: Lessons for sexual health physicians.

Co-existence of multiple drug allergies and pregnancy often results in vexing dilemmas for physicians. A 21-year-old pregnant woman presented with asymptomatic cervicitis with dual infection with Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae during her third trimester. She reported a history of generalised rash with mucous membrane involvement following use of both macrolides and penicillins. Her gonococcal infection was successfully treated with a single dose of intramuscular gentamicin and chlamydial infection with oral clindamycin and rifampicin.