Читать книгу Arthritis For Dummies - Barry Fox - Страница 100

Both men and women can develop gonococcal arthritis. Men are much more likely to know that something is wrong because of the penile discharge and painful urination experienced with gonorrhea. Thus, they’re more likely to receive treatment for the disease before it progresses to gonococcal arthritis. Women, who don’t have such obvious symptoms, are less likely to receive early treatment for gonorrhea and more likely to develop gonococcal arthritis, and to suffer from pain in the abdomen and fever related to the disease.

The typical patient with is a young, sexually active person with the signs and symptoms of venereal disease, so the doctor can often zero in on a possible diagnosis of gonococcal arthritis during the medical history and physical examination. The doctor will then check for skin blisters and wait for lab reports on samples of various body fluids before making a definitive diagnosis.

Treatment with standard antibiotics used to be successful, although in recent years certain strains of gonorrhea have become resistant to many drugs. Today, gonococcal arthritis is treated with an injection or infusion of ceftriaxone, a broad spectrum antibiotic that will stop the infection, possibly together with another antimicrobial agent. These medications should knock out the infection but they won’t be able to repair any permanent damage caused by the disease.