Chancroid overview: Difference between revisions
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==Risk Factors== | ==Risk Factors== | ||
Risk factors for chancroid include: promiscuity, unprotected sexual intercourse, travel to endemic areas in undeveloped countries, lack of circumcision in males, and infection with HIV. | |||
==Diagnosis== | ==Diagnosis== | ||
Revision as of 20:32, 19 January 2016
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Chancroid overview On the Web |
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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]
Overview
Chancroid is a sexually transmitted infection characterized by painful sores on the genitalia. Chancroid is known to be spread from one to another individual through sexual contact.
Historical Perspective
Chancoid has been known to humans since the time of the ancient Greeks. Chancroid was first differentiated from syphilis by Leon Bassereau in 1852. Augusto Ducrey identified Haemophilus ducreyi as the causative organism for chancroid in the 1890s.
Pathophysiology
Chancroid may develop after transmission of Haemophilus ducreyi through breaks in human epithelium, most commonly through sexual contact. Fimbrialike proteins, Flp1, Flp2, Flp3, are suspected to form pili that assist in adhesion and microcolony formation. H. ducreyi induces secretion of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and interleukin-8 (IL-8), which causes inflammatory cells to form abscesses, leading to the formation of papules that may progress into pustules. H. ducreyi cytolethal distending toxin (HdCDT) is a major virulence factor that contributes to necrosis of myeloid and epithelial cells, causing ulceration. On gross examination, pastules, pustules, and ulcers and charactersitic features, depending on the stage of the disease. On microscopic examination, a three-zone structure is typical.
Causes
Haemophilus ducreyi is a fastidious gram-negative coccobacillus causing chancroid, a gential ulcer disease. A genetically distinct non-sexually transmitted strain may also cause cutaneous limb ulcers.
Classification
Chancroid may be classified according to its clinical variants identified during a physical examination. Such variants include: dwarf, giant, follicular, transient, serpiginous, mixed, and phagedenic.
Differential Diagnosis
Chancroid must be differentiated from other diseases that cause genital ulcers and lymphadenopathy including syphilis, herpes simplex, dermatologic aspects of Behçet's disease, dermatologic manifestations of Lymphogranuloma venereum, donovanosis, and fixed drug eruption.
Epidemiology and Demographics
UNAIDS and the World Health Organization estimate the global incidence of chancroid to be approximately 6 million cases per year. Chancroid is uncommon in developed countries but may be prevalent in areas of crack cocaine use and prostitution. Chancroid is a common cause of genital ulcer disease in undeveloped countries. Lack of diagnostic testing and difficulty of culturing H. ducreyi make true incidence difficult to determine, therefore potentially leading to under-diagnosis of chancroid in both developed and undeveloped countries. The male to female ratio of patients with chancroid ranges from 3:1 in endemic areas to 25:1 during outbreak situations. Chancroid is common in areas with high rates of HIV infection because HIV infection is a risk factor for acquiring H. ducreyi.
Risk Factors
Risk factors for chancroid include: promiscuity, unprotected sexual intercourse, travel to endemic areas in undeveloped countries, lack of circumcision in males, and infection with HIV.
Diagnosis
Symptoms
The characteristic lesion in chancroid is a painful ulcer. In men the most common site of this ulcer is the perpuce and in women the labia majora.
Treatment
Medical Therapy
The CDC recommendation for chancroid is a single oral dose of Azythromicin or a single IM dose of Ceftriaxone or oral Erythromycin for seven days.
References