Abstract

A retrospective assessment of 159 female patients who had undergone proctoscopy was carried out between January and September 1977. One hundred and twenty-seven (80%) were known contacts of gonorrhoea; of these, 63 (49.6%) were found to be infected with Neisseria gonorrhoeae. Of these, 29 (46%) harboured gonococci in the rectum as well as in the urethra and cervix while four (6.3%) harboured gonococci only in the rectum. Gram-stained smears gave positive results in only 12 of the 29 cases of rectal gonorrhoea, which indicates the importance of culturing rectal material. It is recommended that the management of anorectal gonorrhoea should be similar to that already established for urogenital infection.