Congenital Syphilis Presenting With Prenatal Bowel Hyperechogenicity And Necrotizing

Congenital syphilis is a severe disease that arises from the vertical transmission of Treponema pallidum. Clinical findings are related to the pregnancy stage, fetal gestational week, maternal treatment and fetal immunologic response. Prematurity, low birth weight, nonimmune hydrops fetalis, necrotizing enterecolitis, hepatomegaly, skin eruptions, thrombocytopenia, hemolytic anemia and fever can be detected in the symptomatic newborn. Postnatal respiratory insufficiency, hepatomegaly, anemia and thrombocytopenia were detected in a baby who was born at the 29th week of gestation, weighing 1.160 g and followed due to intestinal hyperechogenicity from the second trimester. Her and her mother's Venereal Disease Research Laboratory titers were positive, confirming test Treponema pallidum hemagglutination was reactive. After penicillin was administered for 10 days, anemia, and thrombocytopenia were regressed. In the 15th day of life, findings of perforated necrotising enterocolitis (NEC) suddenly appeared. The operation was performed due to NEC for three times but nonresponsive laboratory and clinical findings and died in the 54th day of life. We assumed that syphilis is the cause of both bowel hyperechogenicity and necrotising enterocolitis.