Table 1.
Participants With Untreated Early Syphilis by Oral Treponema pallidum qPCR Positivity (n = 32)
| Characteristic | Total (n = 32) |
Oral T. pallidum PCR Positive (n = 14) |
Oral T. pallidum PCR Negative (n = 18) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age at enrollment, y, mean (SD) | 35 (10) | 31 (8) | 39 (9) |
| Age, y, n (%) | |||
| 18–29 | 11 (34.4) | 9 (64.3) | 2 (11.1) |
| 30–39 | 15 (46.9) | 4 (28.6) | 11 (61.1) |
| 40–49 | 1 (3.1) | 0 (0) | 1 (5.6) |
| ≥50 | 5 (15.6) | 1 (7.1) | 4 (22.2) |
| Male sex, n (%) | 32 (100) | 14 (100) | 18 (100) |
| PWH, n (%) | 29 (90.6) | 11 (78.6) | 18 (100) |
| CD4 in PWH, cells/mm3, median (Q1, Q3) | 453 (285, 651) | 398 (140, 606) | 474 (289, 695) |
| CD4 in PWH, cells/mm3, n (%) | |||
| <200 | 5 (17.9) | 3 (30) | 2 (11.1) |
| 200–350 | 6 (21.4) | 1 (10) | 5 (27.8) |
| ≥350 | 17 (60.7) | 6 (60) | 11 (61.1) |
| Location (study site), n (%) | |||
| Atlanta, Georgia (Emory) | 23 (71.9) | 8 (57.1) | 15 (83.3) |
| Birmingham, Alabama (UAB) | 9 (28.1) | 6 (42.9) | 3 (16.7) |
| Syphilis stage, n (%) | |||
| Primary | 6 (18.8) | 1 (7.1) | 5 (27.8) |
| Secondary | 18 (56.2) | 8 (57.1) | 10 (55.5) |
| Early latent | 8 (25.0) | 5 (35.8) | 3 (16.7) |
| RPR titer, n (%) | |||
| 1:2 | 1 (3.1) | 0 (0) | 1 (5.6) |
| 1:4 | 1 (3.1) | 0 (0) | 1 (5.6) |
| 1:8 | 3 (9.4) | 1 (7.1) | 2 (11.1) |
| 1:16 | 1 (3.1) | 1 (7.1) | 0 (0) |
| 1:32 | 6 (18.8) | 3 (21.4) | 3 (16.7) |
| 1:64 | 5 (15.6) | 2 (14.3) | 3 (16.7) |
| 1:128 | 10 (31.3) | 3 (21.4) | 7 (38.9) |
| 1:256 | 3 (9.4) | 3 (21.4) | 0 (0) |
| 1:512 | 2 (6.3) | 1 (7.1) | 1 (5.6) |
| History of syphilis, n (%) | |||
| Recent (≤12 mo) | 7 (21.9) | 2 (14.3) | 5 (27.8) |
| Past (>12 mo) | 21 (65.6) | 9 (64.3) | 12 (66.7) |
| Never | 4 (12.5) | 3 (32.4) | 1 (5.5) |
| Location of lesion,a n (%) | |||
| Single | 18 (56.2) | 7 (50.0) | 11 (61.1) |
| Penis/scrotum/groin | 6 | 3 | 3 |
| Rectal/perianal | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Tongue/oropharyngeal | 6 | 2 | 4 |
| Trunk/extremities | 4 | 2 | 2 |
| Multiple | 3 (9.4) | 2 (14.3) | 1 (5.6) |
| Penis/scrotum/groin | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Tongue/oropharyngeal | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Trunk/extremities | 1 | 1 | 0 |
Missing data: CD4 was missing in one PWH.
Abbreviations: PWH, people with human immunodeficiency virus; Q1, first quartile; Q3, third quartile; RPR, rapid plasma reagin; SD, standard deviation; UAB, University of Alabama at Birmingham.
aThree participants with secondary syphilis did not have a lesion swab collected.