Page 348 - Critical Maternity & Newborn Health Nursing

Treatment

I- Primary and Secondary Syphilis

a) Procaine penicillin 600,000 units IM daily for 10 days or the long acting

benzathine penicillin 2.4 million units IM (half the dose in each buttock).

b) For patients allergic to penicillin; oral erythromycin, tetracycline or

cephalosporin 500mg 6 hourly for 15 days.

ii- All other syphilis (latent, gummatous, neuro and cardiovascular)

a) penicillin 600.000 units daily or benzathine penicillin 2.4million units im

weekly for 3 weeks. The long acting penicillin is contraindicated in neurosyphilis
because it does not reach enough concentration in the cerebrospinal fluid.

b) For patients allergic to penicillin; erythromycin, tetracycline or cephalosporin

500mg 6 hours for 30 days not: tetracyclines should not be prescribed in pregnancy

because they cause discoloration of the fetal deciduous teeth

Human papilloma virus/ condylomas acuminata: It is caused by the human

papilloma virus (HPV). Often a woman seeks for care after noticing single or

multiple soft, opular pink, cauliflower-like lesions. They may cause itching, bleed

easily, or be painful. Diagnosis is usually done by visual appearance. Women with

HPV infections should have frequent pap smears to monitor cervical cellular

changes. The use of condoms may decrease the risk of transmitting the virus to an

uninfected partner.

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