TABLE 3.

Clinical criteria for recognition of secondary syphilis

Generalized eruptions, especially if indolent, associated with generalized lymphadenopathy and otherwise vague signs of disease

Eruptions that are universal, with the exception of macular rashes, and symmetrically distributed, almost always involving the face and forehead (individual lesions tend to be indurated; the color may vary considerably, most often presenting as a subdued red rather than a bright red lesion)

Macular eruptions highly associated with papules on the genitalia or within the oral cavity

Papular lesions on the palms of the hands or the soles of the feet and, in the absence of dermatitis, elsewhere on the body and involvement of the genitalia

Generalized macular or papular lesions that persist for more than 1 week and are associated with a sore throat

Generalized pustular or follicular lesions in the absence of oral and genitalia involvment

Vesicular lesions, which, although uncommon, are not rare in darker-skinned subjects

Secondary syphilitic lesions, which tend to disappear without leaving permanent scars (depigmentary changes, although infrequent, tend to be permanent, whereas hyperpigmentation changes are not)

Generalized lymphadenopathy, uniformly associated with secondary syphilis