title: Gonococcal meningitis diagnosed by DNA amplification: case report and review of the literature.
abstract: We report a case of gonococcal meningitis diagnosed by DNA amplification. A 47-year old man presented with a 4-day history of asymmetric painful swelling of his ankles and wrists, and skin rash. He had sex with men only but was HIV negative. Headache and photophobia led to a cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) examination that revealed meningitis. Cultures were negative but we detected Neisseria gonorrhoeae in his urine and CSF using a GC/chlamydia DNA amplification assay. The patient was discharged without sequela after 14 days of intravenous ceftriaxone.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, San Diego, California, USA. ecachay@ucsd.edu
authors.forename: Edward
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Cachay
authors.forename: William C
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Mathews
authors.forename: Sharon L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Reed
authors.forename: Mark A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Swancutt
authors.forename: Joshua
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fierer
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002443:Ceftriaxone / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002555:Cerebrospinal Fluid / Q000382:microbiology*; D002648:Child; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D016920:Meningitis, Bacterial / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology; D008875:Middle Aged; D009344:Neisseria gonorrhoeae / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods*; D014556:Urine / Q000382:microbiology*
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D002443:Ceftriaxone