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Arch Ophthalmol. 1999;117:425.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 149 words of the full text and any section headings.

Although penicillin has been extensively employed in the treatment of various syphilitic infections, only a few reports have been made evaluating its use in ocular syphilis. During the past three years we have used penicillin in the treatment of 39 patients with various manifestations of syphilis of the eye.

. . . Penicillin produced little or no immediate response in patients with interstitial keratitis. Clearing of the opacity and subsidence of the inflammation, however, occurred in most patients three to five months after penicillin therapy. Good to excellent vision was finally obtained in 80 per cent of the eyes treated for the initial involvement.

. . . In general, penicillin appears to be of value in the treatment not only of systemic syphilis but also of the ocular manifestations of this disease.

Reference: Benton CD Jr, Heyman A. Treatment of ocular syphilis with penicillin. Arch Ophthalmol. 1948;40:302, 310.