facial myositis: a very rare syphilitic symptom

Introduction: myositis is an inflammation of striated muscle tissue. among its causes, autoimmune diseases are the main ones. however, infectious causes are also incriminated, such as coxsackie b virus epidemic myositis. treponemal myositis or syphilitic myositis is, however, exceptional. its localization or predominance on the facial muscles is even rarer. case presentation: we report a case of a facial form of syphilitic myositis with clinical and radiological study in a 25-year-old patient of malian origin, presented to the neurology department with a painful facial diplegia that had been evolving for one month. infectious myositis is a rare entity. its symptomatology (myalgia/muscle weakness) may be diffuse or localized, as in the case of our patient. the infectious syndrome may be absent and limited to a flu-like syndrome. furthermore, direct involvement of a skeletal muscle is rarely reported in the literature. the evolutionary profile is, therefore, little known. conclusions: syphilitic myositis can have complex clinical aspects and constitute a real diagnostic challenge, as reported in our patient's case.