Chronic erythema nodosum in a male patient with syphilis: a case report

SUMMARY Erythema nodosum is the most frequent septal panniculitis, the clinic is typical; contusiform nodules in lower limbs which usually desapear whithout treatment, chronic evolution i s rare and is more associated with idiopatic cases. There are many causes of this disease, syphilis is one of them. Review of the literature found a few cases that associate both processes, the lastest reports have more than 10 years. We report the case of a 53-year-old male patient, farmer and builder, who 6 months before presented erythematous nodules from 1-4cm in lower limbs and abdomen that disappear and then reappear again. We found positive serology for syphilis, and therefore treated with benzathine penicillin with complete remission of skin lesions. HIV has made rearise many pathologies, among them venereal diseases, and syphilis is no exception to this, there is why the importance of having in mind this disease as a cause of erithema nodosum.