Gonococcal perihepatitis (the Fitz-Hugh-Curtis syndrome): a diagnostic dilemma.

Three case histories of patients who were treated for gonococcal perihepatitis (Fitz-Hugh-Curtis syndrome) are reviewed. The incidence rate of this disease process is believed to be increasing, and a surgical consultation is often asked for in the evaluation of these individuals. The diagnosis of FHCS requires a high index of suspicion. However, if a patient has signs and symptoms of acute cholecystitis plus the recent onset of a purulent genitourinary infection, the diagnosis of FHCS is suggested. Confirmation of this diagnosis is obtained with the culturing of N. gonorrheae from urethral or cervical secretions. The clinical presentation may vary from a moderately symptomatic to an acutely ill individual. Most commonly there is an abrupt onset of sharp right upper quadrant pain. The finding of any degree of lower abdominal or pelvic tenderness in addition to the upper abdominal pain, should make one highly suspicious of pelvic inflammatory disease and concommitant FHCS. Although no deaths have been reported from this syndrome, it is important to make a prompt clinical diagnosis and commence appropriate antibiotic therapy. The currently recommended therapeutic regimen is procaine penicillin, 1,200,000 U, twice a day for 10 days.