Effect of treatment with benzathine penicillin combined with ceftriaxone in elderly patients with latent syphilis

Abstract

Purpose: To investigate the effect of the combination of benzathine penicillin and ceftriaxone in the treatment of latent syphilis in the elderly. 
 Methods: A total of 70 elderly patients with latent syphilis treated in the First People’s Hospital of Yichang from March 2020 to March 2021 were enrolled in this study. Control group (CG) comprised thirty-two patients treated with benzathine penicillin, while 38 patients received the combination of benzathine penicillin and ceftriaxone were placed in the study group (SG). Therapeutic efficacy and adverse reactions in both groups were assessed. The difference in toludine red unheated serum test (TRUST) negative conversion rate at different periods of treatment (3, 6, and 12 months) after treatment was observed. Dermatological quality of life index (DLQI), self-rating anxiety scale (SAS) and self-rating depression scale (SDS) scores were also determined before and after treatment. 
 Results: Total efficacy in the study group was significantly higher than that in the control group after treatment (p < 0.05), but there was no significant difference in the total incidence of adverse reactions between both groups (p > 0.05). The TRUST negative conversion rate at 6 and 12 months in SG was higher than that in CG (p < 0.05), while DLQI, SAS and SDS scores in SG were significantly lower after treatment (p < 0.05). 
 Conclusion: Treatment of elderly patients with latent syphilis with the combination of benzathine penicillin and ceftriaxone effectively controls the disease and improves patients’ negative emotions and quality of life with few adverse drug reactions. Further clinical trials are required prior to application in clinical practice.