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Sexually transmitted disease caused by a bacterium called Haemophilus ducreyi.
Contagion is favored if the person has a lesion on the skin or chafing. It is more frequent in uncircumcised men and/or men with poor personal hygiene.
It manifests as one or more ulcers on the genital organs, which may be accompanied by a painful lump on the groin. Occasionally this lump may discharge pus.
Diagnosis is clinical by interrogation and genital examination.
Antibiotic treatment should be started early to control the symptoms; for example with unidose treatments of azithromycin or ceftriaxone. If a lot of pus accumulates, a small intervention may be necessary to drain it.
- Charles B Hicks, MD. Chancroid. Uptodate, Jun 30, 2016.
- Lewis DA. Epidemiology, clinical features, diagnosis and treatment of Haemophilus ducreyi - a disappearing pathogen? Expert Rev Anti Infect Ther 2014; 12:687.
- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2014 sexually transmitted disease surveillance. http://www.cdc.gov/std/stats14/tables/44.htm (Accessed on May 12, 2016).
- Lewis DA. Diagnostic tests for chancroid. Sex Transm Infect 2000; 76:137.
- Timothy F. Murphy.Infecciones por Haemophilus y Moraxella.Harrison. Principios de Medicina Interna, 19e.Capítulo 182.
Dr. Oscar Garcia-Esquirol
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