Risk Factors and Seroprevalence of Syphilis Among Naive HIV Patients: A Cross-Sectional Study From a Tertiary Center

Abstract

Aim: Syphilis coinfection is common among human immune deficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) diagnosed patients. We aimed to investigate the rates of syphilis coinfection, social-demographical features, viral and immunological properties among naive HIV/AIDS patients. Methods: Socio-demographical data, CD4+ T lymphocyte counts, HIV viral load, syphilis antibody results and physical examinations at the time of diagnosis of naive HIV infected patients who were admitted to our center between January 2017 and January 2021, were evaluated retrospectively from the medical records. Results: Three hundred-two naive HIV patients were enrolled in the study. Positive syphilis antibody rate was detected as 21.5% and 86.2% of those patients were male and also found 31.4% (p<0.01) in patients in which route of transmission was men sex with men (MSM). Positive syphilis antibody rate was found to be statistically higher in patients with substance abuse (p<0.01), CD4+ T lymphocyte counts were under 200 cell/mm(3) (p=0.018) and viral load above 100.000 copies/mL (p<0.01). Conclusion: Among HIV-infected patients, those with MSM and substance abuse constitute the group at highest risk of syphilis. Therefore, syphilis must be screened and treated, especially at HIV diagnosis and high-risk behaviors.