Disseminated Gonococcal Infection: A Case Report of Arthritis-Dermatitis Syndrome

The bacteremic spread of the sexually transmitted pathogen, Neisseria gonorrhoeae (N. gonorrhoeae), results in disseminated gonococcal infection (DGI), which can lead to a variety of clinical signs and symptoms, such as multiple skin lesions, tenosynovitis and arthralgias/arthritis. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention listed that drug-resistant N. gonorrhoeae (cephalosporin resistance) poses an urgent threat due to antimicrobial resistance. The authors describe the case of a young woman presenting in the emergency department (ED) with skin lesions and malaise. DGI was confirmed by blood cultures, nucleic acid amplification testing (NAAT) in cervical mucosa and urine gonococcal probe. One week of intravenous ceftriaxone was administrated with complete clinical and analytical resolution. The patient made a full clinical recovery. Clinicians must be aware of the signs and symptoms of this rare yet reemerging disease.