[Dermatitis or arthritis as a sign of gonorrhoea]

Abstract

Disseminated gonococcal infection occurs in less than 5% of patients infected with Neisseria gonorrhoeae. The majority of these patients present with arthritis, tenosynovitis, polyarthralgia or dermatitis. In this article we present two patients with disseminated gonococcal infection, each with different symptoms. The first patient, a 23-year-old woman, was suffering from erythema nodosum, chronic polyarthralgia and weight loss. The second patient, a 32-year-old woman, was suffering from arthritis and tenosynovitis. Both patients were admitted for parenteral treatment with ceftriaxone. Disseminated gonococcal infection can be treated with a short course of broad spectrum parenteral antibiotics. Therapy can be switched to oral therapy in accordance with the susceptibility pattern of the N. gonorrhoea strain and when an improvement in the patient is noted.