Baseline characteristics
| Characteristic | All patients (n=138) | Patients with HIV (n=112) | Patients without HIV (n=26) |
| Age (years)* | 43 (34–49) | 44 (36–50) | 34 (27–43) |
| Male sex | 126 (91.3%) | 112 (100%) | 14 (53.8%) |
| CD4 counts (/μL)* | – | 481 (351.3–575.3) | – |
| HIV-RNA <50 copies/mL | – | 90 (80.4%) | – |
| History of syphilis | 57 (41.3%) | 57 (50.1%) | 0 (0%) |
| Stage of syphilis | |||
| 1 | 11 (8.0%) | 6 (5.4%) | 5 (19.2%) |
| 2 | 69 (50.0%) | 59 (52.7%) | 10 (38.5%) |
| Early latent | 35 (25.4%) | 32 (28.6%) | 3 (11.5%) |
| Late latent | 8 (5.8%) | 4 (3.6%) | 4 (15.4%) |
| Unknown duration | 15 (10.9%) | 11 (9.8%) | 4 (15.4%) |
| Baseline RPR titre (RU)* | 108.3 (58.3–218.9) | 129.8 (60.6–247.5) | 77.8 (53.6–113.1) |
| Baseline TPLA titre (TU)* | 6109 (2933–17 918) | 8234 (3325–23 571) | 3435 (640–5272) |
| Treatment duration (week)* | 4.5 (4–8) | 4 (4–8) | 6 (4–8) |
| Serological cure† | 131 (94.9%) | 105 (93.8%) | 26 (100%) |
| Switch to other regimens | 2 (1.4%) | 0 (0%) | 2 (7.7%) |
*Median (IQR).
†Serological cure was defined as a ≥fourfold decrease in the RPR titre within 12 months in symptomatic early syphilis and 24 months in latent syphilis.
RPR, rapid plasma reagin; TPLA, Treponema pallidum latex-agglutination.