The Great Mimicker: Forgotten but not Gone

Abstract

Once subdued after the advent of penicillin, syphilis has re-emerged in recent years, with incidence rates rising in many countries, including the United States. Its reputation as “the great imitator” is well earned due to its widely variable presentation, particularly in its second stage. This contributes to a high rate of delayed diagnosis and misdiagnosis, adding significant burden to patients and the health care system generally. Herein, we present 2 cases in which syphilis was misdiagnosed, leading to unnecessary therapies and delay of symptom clearance until treponemal tests were performed. In the context of recent epidemiologic trends and its notorious difficulty to clinically define, syphilis should always be considered in the differential diagnosis of diffuse cutaneous eruptions.