[Congenital syphilis: late diagnosis in spite of screening]. / Lues connata: Späte Diagnose trotz Screening.

We report the case of an infant in whom congenital syphilis was diagnosed at the age of 5 weeks. The case is remarkable because of (a) the negative venereal disease laboratory test from the cord blood, (b) the incidental diagnosis of the disease in the fifth week of life, (c) pneumonia alba being one of the symptoms, (d) the occurrence of a mild Jarisch-Herxheimer reaction after initiation of penicillin therapy and (e) the successful treatment of infection related anaemia with recombinant human erythropoietin.

[HTLV-III monitoring in prostitutes in Vienna]. / HTLV-III-Uberwachung bei Prostituierten in Wien.

Since the end of May 1985 registered Viennese prostitutes are regularly screened for HTLV-III/LAV antibodies. Up to the end of January 1986 839 prostitutes had been investigated and 7 of them (0.8%) revealed positive test results. 5 persons are intravenous drug addicts, whilst 2 only admitted connection to drug addicts. Furthermore, HTLV-III antibodies were detected in 1 non-registered prostitute and in 5 men (3 homosexuals, 2 drug addicts). 11 out of these 13 seropositive patients have confirmed lymphadenopathy syndrome, whilst latent infection has to be assumed in the remaining 2 cases.

[Evaluation of exanthemas following high-dosage intravenous penicillin combinations in intensive care]. / Zur Wertung von Exanthemen nach hochdosierten intravenösen Penicillinkombinationen in der Intensivpflege

118 patients of a non specialized intensive care unit have been studied, all of them under high dose bactericidal cover (10 MIU of Na-Penicillin G and 2,0 Ciclacillin q 12 hrs.) for a period of days to 4 weeks. In 17 (14,4%) a skin rash was observed. 10 of these could be studied using special techniques (radial immunodiffusion, passive hemagglutination, RIST and RAST), however in none of these cases there was a hint of the existence of penicillin specific antibodies. In 6 patients also skin tests were performed. There was no immediate type reaction, only twice delayed type reactions occured to Na Pencillin G.6 patients had continuing treatment on spite of the rash and without further steps the effluorescences vanished within 3-6 days. Therefore continuation of the antibiotic therapy in spite of rash along with strict clinical and laboratory monitoring seems to be preferable to a hastened change of antibiotic regime