Gonococcal endocarditis: a rare complication of a common disease

This report describes a case of gonococcal endocarditis in a 28 year old male patient with no history of previous valvular heart disease. More cases of gonococcal endocarditis (a rare complication of gonorrhoea) may occur with the increase in the incidence of gonorrhoea and the increase in resistance to ciprofloxacin, which is currently used as the first line agent for the treatment of gonorrhoea in 75 % of genitourinary medicine clinics. W ith resurgence in the incidence of gonorrhoea in the UK we are likely to see more instances of its complications being manifested. Furthermore, the increase in resistance to ciprofloxacin (the GRASP study revealed a 7 % increase in ciprofloxacin resistance in England and Wales from 2001 to 2002),1 which is used as a first lin