El tratamiento de prueba en la sífilis

Abstract

The result of test treatment (Diagnostic) is a diagnostic verification of indirect etiological symptom of syphilis in patients with doubtful signs and antecedents. It is linked to the concept of the existence of specific antisyphilitic medications, which according to the author are those which electively act in syphilis, and exert no elective action in other diseases or symptoms. The antisyphilitic drugs exercise without doubt, a more or less accentuated specific action of their own, besides those which they provoke by their presence in the organism. For this reason, they permit to authenticate the doubtful diagnosis of syphilis. The author is inclined to realize the diagnostic treatment with mercurials as it is a specific treatment in vitro, and at length experimented. It is better tolerated by the nervous and vascular systems and being the less toxic and congestive medication, it is applicable in whatever age of the patient and in whatever stage of syphilis. The diagnostic treatment should be done actively with tolerable doses, and should be continued for some length of time, renewing the series of inyections, as there are symptoms of slow disappearance. Sometimes, the old mixed treatment should be used, mercurials and iodides, or alternated, or associated with arsenicals with much prudence, or resort to some series of the salts of bismuth, gold or zinc. The erroneous belief that with very little treatment the syphilitic lesions or symptoms should disappear must be avoided. It is for this reason, the treatment bodly done does not give result. The diagnostic treatment may fail for existing irreparable lesions, that is, not modifiable as a consequence of syphilis or because there is no syphilis. It may fail also because of the betterment of the lesions is only partial due to they being mixed lesions, that is to say, associated with those of other disease, wich actas activating agent to the syphilitic virus.