Integrated Chinese and Western Medicine Care of a Patient with Syphilitic Myelitis Secondary to Brain Lesions

Zhang X1, Li B1 and Hanjiao L2*

1Shenzhen Bao'an Chinese Medicine Hospital, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, China
2Shenzhen Bao'an Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital Group, China

^*Correspondance to: Hanjiao Liu 

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Abstract:

Syphilitic myelitis is a rare manifestation of neurosyphilis that has received little attention in the literature. This paper discusses the case of a 40-year-old female patient with a history of incompletely treated syphilis who presented with several weeks of progressive numbness and weakness in both legs in January following a high-risk sexual behavior. The clinical examination revealed that this patient had muscle strength grade 3 in the left lower limb and grade 4 in the right lower limb, normal muscle tone in all four limbs, decreased sensation in the left lower limb compared to the right lower limb, and bilateral Hoffmann(+) bilateral Babinski(+). A cranial MRI scan revealed a few patchy and sheet-like abnormal signal shadows in the semi-ovoid center. A spinal cord MRI scan revealed an aberrant signal in the spinal cord (cervical 2-thoracic 12 level), suggesting a high possibility of spondylitis. Consider sarcoidosis or syphilitic secondary vasculitis after a cranial and cervical vascular MRI scan revealed: Left basal ganglia, aberrant signal in the internal capsule brain. The patient was diagnosed with syphilitic myelitis, ruling out other infectious or immunologic etiologies. The patient was given intravenous penicillin and intravenous methylprednisolone at 1 g daily for 3 days. The medication was gradually reduced and then withdrawn. During outpatient follow-up, the patient improved and had no relapse of symptoms. This paper demonstrates the exceptional efficacy of TCM methods for the treatment of syphilitic myelitis.

Keywords:

Syphilitic myelitis; Combined Chinese and Western medicine therapies; Nursing

Cite the Article:

Zhang X, Li B, Hanjiao L. Integrated Chinese and Western Medicine Care of a Patient with Syphilitic Myelitis Secondary to Brain Lesions. Ann Clin Case Rep. 2023; 8: 2520..