Late syphilis, latent

This code signifies a stage of syphilis where the infection is present but without active symptoms or signs of the disease, and the infection has been present for more than one year (or an unknown duration). Serological tests for syphilis are reactive, but cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) examination is normal, ruling out neurosyphilis.

Use this code when documentation confirms a diagnosis of syphilis that is asymptomatic and has persisted for over a year, or when the duration is unknown. This diagnosis is typically established through positive treponemal and non-treponemal serologic tests in the absence of clinical manifestations.

• Differentiate from early latent syphilis (less than one year duration), which has a separate code.
• Ensure documentation explicitly states "late latent" or "latent, duration unknown/greater than one year" to support this specific code.
• If any active manifestations of syphilis are present (e.g., cardiovascular, neurosyphilis), a more specific code for those conditions should be used instead.