This article is only available in the PDF format. Download the PDF to view the article, as well as its associated figures and tables.
In the article "Syphilis: Review of the Recent Literature," by Dr. Herman Beerman and colleagues, in the February issue of the Archives, the following paragraphs should be substituted for the first paragraph on page 286.
Treatment Before Diagnosis in Venerology.
—While Willcox 153 does not advocate indiscriminate treatment with penicillin before diagnosis, there are certain indications for its use, which are the following:
In mass-treatment campaigns against the treponemal diseases in areas of high prevalence
In persons exposed to unusual risk of syphilis (e. g., regular consorts of known infectious syphilitics, especially if pregnant)
In women whose tests have failed to show the Gonococcus but in whom gonorrhea is suspected on epidemiological grounds
As a prophylactic against gonorrhea after risk of infection
King153a is against treatment before diagnosis (abortive treatment) because it is unsound, perhaps ineffective, and often harmful. He believes that this departure from