Coinfection of syphilis and HIV: epidemiological evaluation at the Dermatology Department in Lodz, Poland.

Abstract

Introduction: An increasing incidence in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and syphilis coinfection has been observed in recent years.

Aim: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prevalence and characteristics of HIV diagnosis among patients with syphilis hospitalized from 2015 to 2022 at the Department of Dermatology.

Material and methods: This is a single-centre retrospective cohort study regarding adult patients diagnosed with syphilis and HIV. Data were collected from patient medical records and subsequently analysed to identify patterns and associations among patients with coinfection.

Results: Among 511 patients hospitalized because of syphilis, 98 had concomitant HIV infection (96 males and 2 females). An increase in the number of HIV infections was observed in the group of syphilis-positive patients at a rate of 3.89% per year (Pearson p < 0.001, N = 8). The correlation in the total yearly number of syphilis and HIV positive cases (Pearson p < 0.001, N = 8) was noticed in 2015-2022. The most frequent comorbidities were hepatitis viruses (42.9%), gonorrhoea (16.3%) and depression (13.3%).

Conclusions: In our study we observed a considerable increase in the number of patients diagnosed with the coinfection of syphilis and HIV in the last few years. The above analysis underscores the ongoing public health challenges associated with these diseases.