Gonococcal arthritis is inflammation of a joint (usually just one) due to a gonorrhea infection.

See also: Non-gonococcal bacterial arthritis

Disseminated gonococcal infection (DGI)

Gonococcal arthritis is an infection of a joint. It occurs in people who have gonorrhea caused by the bacteria Neisseria gonorrhoeae. It affects women more often than men, and it is most common among sexually active adolescent girls.

Two forms of gonococcal arthritis exist:

• One involves skin rashes and many joints, usually large joints such as the knee, wrist, and ankle
• The second, less common form involves the spread of the bacteria through the blood (disseminated gonococcemia), which leads to infection of a single joint

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Gonoccocal arthritis

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Gonococcal arthritis Symptoms

Review Date: 06/09/2011
Reviewed By: Linda Vorvick, MD, Medical Director, MEDEX Northwest Division of Physician Assistant Studies, University of Washington School of Medicine; Jatin M. Vyas, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor in Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Assistant in Medicine, Division of Infectious Disease, Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org)