Gonococcal salpingitis in gynaecology--myth or missed?

A series of 25 cases of gonococcal salpingitis were seen in a teaching hospital between October, 1972, and March, 1975. These cases formed 29 per cent of all cases of salpingitis excluding post-abortal cases. The majority were investigated at the bedside by taking films and cultures from the cervix and urethra. The films were stained by Gram's method and specimens for culture were streaked on to prewarmed Gonococcal Selective Medium (Oxoid) and the plates were incubated at once in a CO2-enriched atmosphere at 37 degrees C. A group of cases was identified with minimal symptoms and minimal, or absent, signs; in such cases the diagnosis may be unsuspected. Reasons are advanced for the failure of other gynaecological units to recognize gonococcal salpingitis.