{"id":4405,"date":"2021-09-15T14:26:30","date_gmt":"2021-09-15T02:26:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.awanuilabs.co.nz\/central\/wellington\/?page_id=4405"},"modified":"2025-05-05T14:06:15","modified_gmt":"2025-05-05T02:06:15","slug":"gonorrhoea","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.awanuilabs.co.nz\/central\/wellington\/for-referrers\/microbiology\/how-do-i-diagnose\/gonorrhoea\/","title":{"rendered":"Gonorrhoea"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Infection:<\/strong> &nbsp;<em>Neisseria gonorrhoeae<\/em> infection; gonorrhoea; gonococcal infection; GC<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-atomic-blocks-ab-accordion ab-block-accordion\"><details><summary class=\"ab-accordion-title\">Brief description:<\/summary><div class=\"ab-accordion-text\">\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A bacteria that causes sexually transmitted infections.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Up to 80% of women with genital infection may be asymptomatic, in men the number is lower, around 10-15%. Rectal and pharyngeal infection is usually asymptomatic.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Can cause vaginal\/urethral discharge, dysuria, lower abdominal pain, abnormal vaginal bleeding, testicular pain\/swelling, or anal pain\/discharge. Also conjunctivitis.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/details><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-atomic-blocks-ab-accordion ab-block-accordion\"><details><summary class=\"ab-accordion-title\">Did you know?<\/summary><div class=\"ab-accordion-text\">\n<p>If symptomatic, tends to cause more aggressive infection than chlamydia. Rarely can cause disseminated disease with rash and septic arthritis.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/details><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-atomic-blocks-ab-accordion ab-block-accordion\"><details><summary class=\"ab-accordion-title\">Who should I test?<\/summary><div class=\"ab-accordion-text\">\n<p>Test sexually active people with signs or symptoms, and known contacts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Test females and men who have sex with men (MSM) as part of routine sexual health check.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It can take <strong>up to 2 weeks<\/strong> to test positive if infection occurs relating to <strong>specific sexual event<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Although testing is very specific, positive results in people with a very <strong>low pre-test probability<\/strong> have a higher chance of being <strong>false<\/strong> <strong>positives<\/strong>. Caution is advised when testing in very low pre-test probability groups, <strong>especially if a false positive result could have significant negative consequences<\/strong> e.g. children, older people in stable relationships. Many labs will not accept tests in children without prior discussion with an expert.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/details><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-atomic-blocks-ab-accordion ab-block-accordion\"><details><summary class=\"ab-accordion-title\">Test of choice:<\/summary><div class=\"ab-accordion-text\">\n<p>Request<strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/scg.labapps.nz\/#\/WEL\/details\/26938\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Gonorrhoea NAAT<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>NAAT\/PCR <\/strong>on<strong> vaginal swab <\/strong>(self- or clinician-collected) for women, <strong>first void urine<\/strong> (&gt;1 hour after last void) for men. <strong>Anorectal<\/strong> <strong>swabs<\/strong> and <strong>pharyngeal<\/strong> <strong>swabs<\/strong> can also be taken in women based on sexual history, and are indicated in <strong>MSM<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A <strong>specific kit<\/strong> is usually required for NAAT testing e.g. the<strong> Aptima <\/strong>swabs\/urine kit.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Chlamydia<\/strong> is tested in parallel from the <strong>same sample<\/strong>, and other STI testing, e.g. Trichomonas, can be <strong>shared<\/strong> also.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Excellent<strong> sensitivity &#8211; <\/strong>a<strong> negative <\/strong>test on a well-collected sample makes the diagnosis <strong>very unlikely<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Excellent<strong> specificity &#8211; <\/strong>a<strong> positive <\/strong>test in an at risk person makes the diagnosis<strong> highly likely<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>First void urine <\/strong>can also be used in women, but is 2nd line due to <strong>lower sensitivity<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Culture <\/strong>on an<strong> endocervical swab <\/strong>or a<strong> urethral swab <\/strong>can be taken in<strong> symptomatic <\/strong>women and men, respectively. Culture requires a (usually purple) <strong>bacterial<\/strong> <strong>swab<\/strong>, rather than the NAAT swab. If culture is performed, it should be <strong>in parallel to NAAT<\/strong>, not instead of.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The <strong>sensitivity<\/strong> is <strong>lower<\/strong> than NAAT, however the <strong>specificity<\/strong> is <strong>very high<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Also permits <strong>susceptibility<\/strong> <strong>testing<\/strong>. Important if <strong>intolerance of standard treatment<\/strong>, possible <strong>treatment failure<\/strong>, or other risk factors for <strong>antibiotic resistance<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/details><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-atomic-blocks-ab-accordion ab-block-accordion\"><details><summary class=\"ab-accordion-title\">Other considerations:<\/summary><div class=\"ab-accordion-text\">\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>ll sexual contacts from the <strong>prior 3 months<\/strong> should be notified.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Reinfection <\/strong>is common. Offer repeat sexual health check at 3 months.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Test of cure <\/strong>is<strong> not required <\/strong>if symptoms resolve, unless pregnant or rectal infection<strong>.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Don\u2019t retest with NAAT <strong>within 3 weeks<\/strong> of treatment (including for test of cure), as the test <strong>may remain positive<\/strong> due to residual dead organisms.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/details><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Infection: &nbsp;Neisseria gonorrhoeae infection; gonorrhoea; gonococcal infection; GC","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":0,"parent":4222,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"page-left-sidebar.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-4405","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Gonorrhoea &#8211; Awanui Labs - Wellington<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.awanuilabs.co.nz\/central\/wellington\/for-referrers\/microbiology\/how-do-i-diagnose\/gonorrhoea\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Gonorrhoea &#8211; 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