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Gonococcal arthritis - Symptom

Alternative Names

Disseminated gonococcal infection (DGI)

Symptoms:

Fever
Lower abdominal pain
Migrating joint pain for 1 to 4 days
Pain in the hands or wrists due to tendon inflammation
Pain or burning on urination
Single joint pain
Skin rash (lesions are flat, pink to red, may later contain pus or appear purple)

Signs and tests:

Blood cultures should be checked in all cases of possible gonococcal arthritis.

Tests will be done to check for a gonorrhea infection. This may involve taking samples of tissue, stool, joint fluids, or other body material and sending them to a lab for examination under a microscope. Examples of such tests include:

Gonoccocal arthritis

Reviewed last on: 12/3/2007
D. Scott Smith, M.D., MSc, DTM&H, Chief of Infectious Disease & Geographic Medicine, Kaiser Redwood City, CA & Adjunct Assistant Professor, Stanford University. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

References

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Update to CDC's sexually transmitted diseases treatment guidelines, 2006: fluoroquinolones no longer recommended for treatment of gonococcal infections. MMWR. 2007;56(14):332-336.

U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Screening for gonorrhea: recommendation statement. Ann Fam Physician. 2005;3(3):263-267.

Cohen J, Powderly WG. Infectious Diseases. 2nd ed. New York, NY: Elsevier; 2004:2173-2186.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Sexually Transmitted Disease Surveillance, 2004. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Service, September 2005.

Weinstock H, Berman S, Cates W. Sexually transmitted disease among American youth: Incidence and prevalence estimates, 2000. Perspect Sex Reprod Health. 2004;36:6-10.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Sexually transmitted diseases treatment guidelines 2002. MMWR. 2002;51(no. RR-6):1-78.

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