Introduction:
Gonorrhea is caused by gram-negative diplococci, Neisseria
gonorrhoeae . It is one of the most common reportable, sexually
transmitted infections in the United States. Over 700,000 cases were
reported to the CDC in 2021 with about half of these infections
estimated to be resistant to at least one antibiotic
(1), although most
strains remain susceptible to ceftriaxone. While the typical gonorrheal
infection leads to cervicitis in women and urethritis in men; untreated
infections often result in pelvic inflammatory diseases, ectopic
pregnancies, and infertility in both men and women
(2). The disseminated
gonorrheal infection (DGI) is seen in less than 3% of all gonorrheal
cases with complications ranging from polyarthritis to an overlap of
polyarthritis with cutaneous manifestations
(3), and in rare
instances, endocarditis and meningitis have been reported
(4,5).