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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Avicenna J Med 2020; 10(03): 122-124
DOI: 10.4103/ajm.ajm_215_19
Case Report

Onychoptosis: a forgotten sign in syphilis infection

Ahmad A Al-Awwad
Department of Neurology, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, USA
,
Omar Abdelmaksoud
Department of Neurology, Benha University, Benha, Egypt
,
Abdulmawla Albirini
Department of Neurology, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, USA
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Subject Editor: Financial support and sponsorship Nil.
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Abstract

Onychoptosis is the periodic shedding and falling of one or more nails, in whole or part. It can be seen after fever, trauma, adverse reaction to medications, and in systemic illnesses including syphilis (syphilitic onychia). We report a case of 38-year-old man presented with subacute bilateral retrobulbar optic neuritis. Physical examination revealed diffuse onychoptosis which lead into the diagnosis of neurosyphilis. Symptoms significantly improved with appropriate treatment with intravenous penicillin G for 14 days.

Keywords

Neurosyphilis - onychoptosis - syphilis - syphilitic onychia


Publication History

Article published online:
04 August 2021

© 2020. Syrian American Medical Society. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial-License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

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