{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,9]],"date-time":"2026-05-09T01:26:17Z","timestamp":1778289977384,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":15,"publisher":"Springer Science and Business Media LLC","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2013,7,26]],"date-time":"2013-07-26T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1374796800000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/www.springer.com\/tdm"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["link.springer.com"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["BMC Infect Dis"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2013,12]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n          <jats:sec>\n            <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n            <jats:p>Syphilis has been referred to as \u201cthe great imitator\u201d due to its ability to imitate other diseases. Untreated syphilis becomes a systemic infection that can involve almost every organ systems. <jats:italic>Treponema pallidum<\/jats:italic> has a high affinity for bone tissue, but osteitis has mainly been described in late stages of the disease. Vertebral involvement is rare, and this is to our knowledge the first case describing syphilitic spondylitis in early acquired syphilis.<\/jats:p>\n          <\/jats:sec>\n          <jats:sec>\n            <jats:title>Case presentation<\/jats:title>\n            <jats:p>We here describe destructive osteitis in the vertebral column as the initial manifestation of early acquired syphilis in a 24-year-old caucasian homosexual male with HIV infection. The diagnosis was reached by universal bacterial PCR and DNA sequencing of the DNA product. It was confirmed by PCR specific for <jats:italic>Treponema pallidum<\/jats:italic>, immunohistochemistry and detection of increasing antibody titer.<\/jats:p>\n          <\/jats:sec>\n          <jats:sec>\n            <jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n            <jats:p>As syphilis has re-emerged in Western countries and remains a worldwide common disease it is important to have in mind as a causative agent of skeletal symptoms, especially among HIV-infected individuals or men who have sex with men (MSM).<\/jats:p>\n          <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1186\/1471-2334-13-347","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2013,7,26]],"date-time":"2013-07-26T12:11:55Z","timestamp":1374840715000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/springer_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":11,"title":["Osteitis in the dens of axis caused by Treponema pallidum"],"prefix":"10.1186","volume":"13","author":[{"given":"Thilde","family":"Fabricius","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Charlotte","family":"Winther","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Caroline","family":"Ewertsen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Michael","family":"Kemp","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Susanne Dam","family":"Nielsen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"297","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2013,7,26]]},"reference":[{"key":"2561_CR1","first-page":"2768","volume":"2","author":"GL Mandell","year":"2009","unstructured":"Mandell GL, Doulin R, Bennett JE: Principles and practice of infectious diseases. 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