Comparison of the Blood Picture in Treated and Untreated Syphilis Patients

Abstract

Blood examinations were made on a number of syphilitic patients 20 who were divided into 2 groups. One group consisted of 58 patients who had received no treatment up to the time of the blood examination. Thirty-two were seen in the stage of an active primary infection, 18 had active secondary lesions, and 8 had signs and symptoms of tertiary disease. The second group consisted of 55 patients who had received varying amounts of specific treatment, ranging from less than one full course of arsphenamine and mercury to several such courses. In 20 of these, treatment was instituted during the primary stage of the disease, in 16 treatment was begun during the secondary stage, and in 19 during the tertiary stage.

Since the patients were ambulatory and repeated counts could be obtained only with great difficulty, one complete blood examination was made on each individual. Each examination included a total red and white cell count made with standardized pipettes, a hemoglobin determination by the Newcomer method, a platelet count by the Ringer-heparin method of Casey, 1 , 2 and a differential white cell count made with the supravital technique, 100 cells being counted on each of 2 smears. The blood findings in these 2 groups were then compared, and the mean and standard error of the mean was determined for each blood element. A difference was considered to be significant when the probability of its occurrence by chance was less than one in 100.

In the treated group as compared with the untreated patients, the hemoglobin level and the absolute and relative numbers of lymphocytes were significantly higher, while the total white cells, the number of platelets, the absolute and relative numbers of neutrophils, and the absolute and relative numbers of monocytes were significantly lower.