A previously well 30-year-old man presented with severe progressive back pain, joint pain and fever. Magnetic resonance imaging confirmed an epidural abscess. A sexual history revealed both risk factors for and previous symptoms of a sexually acquired infection. Neisseria gonorrhoeae was isolated from a rectal swab and from a wrist aspirate, consistent with disseminated gonococcal infection. The epidural abscess resolved clinically and radiologically after treatment for N. gonorrhoeae with ceftriaxone.
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We would like to acknowledge Associate Professor John Tapsall, Athena Limnios and the Neisseria Reference Laboratory, Department of Microbiology, Prince of Wales Hospital, Randwick, NSW.
None identified