The Great Spiral Masquerader: A Case of Concurrent Secondary Syphilis and Autoimmune Hepatitis

An Adolescent Female With Concurrent Presentation of Autoimmune Hepatitis and Secondary Syphilis

We describe concurrent diagnoses of autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) and secondary syphilis in a 17-year-old adolescent with jaundice, with possible syphilitic hepatitis (SH) excluded after a thorough investigation. Our patient presented with a several-day history of malaise, progressive jaundice, and vomiting. She disclosed being sexually active and requested testing for sexually transmitted infections. Her subsequent investigations demonstrated acute hepatitis with a positive antinuclear antibody and elevated IgG. She also tested positive for syphilis with a reactive rapid plasma regain and treponema pallidum particle agglutination assay. We considered 2 etiologies for her elevated liver enzymes: syphilitic hepatitis and AIH. AIH was confirmed on liver biopsy, establishing the first reported pediatric case of concurrent AIH and secondary syphilis. Syphilis is hypothesized to be an infectious trigger for AIH.