Superimposed primary chancre in a patient with Adamantiades-Behcet's disease

Adamantiades-Behcet's disease was diagnosed in a 42 year old Turkish patien t with recurrent oral aphthae, genital ulcerations, papules, and sterile pu stules, histologically presenting as cutaneous vasculitis, and intermittent arthritis with joint effusion particularly of the knees. Six months after initial improvement under treatment with colchicine 2 mg/day, a solitary ge nital ulcer with enlarged inguinal lymph nodes appeared and persisted for 7 weeks despite the continuation of colchicine treatment and the introductio n of clindamycin 2 mg/day intravenously. The unusual persistence of the ulc er and the failure of clindamycin therapy led to further differential diagn ostic considerations and the identification of primary syphilis. The genita l lesion healed 4 weeks after initiation of treatment with tetracycline 2 m g/day by mouth for 15 days.