The rectal culture as a test of cure of gonorrhea in the female.

Abstract

If a single culture specimen is used as a screening test for gonorrhea, the cervical site is preferred. Culturing the anal canal in addition to the cervix significantly increases the number of cases diagnosed. The rectal and cervical sites were compared as test of cure in 908 female patients who had gonorrhea. After treatment, positive cervical or rectal cultures (or cultures of both sites) were found in 10.6% of the patients. Thirty percent of the therapeutic failures would have been missed if only the cervical site had been tested. It was also found that antibiotic therapy is more likely to fail if Neisseria gonorrhoeae infects both the cervix and rectum. If antibiotic therapy is adequate, rectal gonorrhea is no more difficult to cure than cervical gonorrhea.