• Misaki Kageyama, Hideharu Hagiya, Yasutaka Ueda, Katsuki Ohtani, Yasuo Fukumori, Norimitsu Inoue, Nobutaka Wakamiya, Nanoka Yoneda, Keigo Kimura, Motonori Nagasawa, Futoshi Nakagami, Isao Nishi, Ken Sugimoto, and Hiromi Rakugi.
• Department of General Medicine.
• Medicine (Baltimore). 2021 Apr 2; 100 (13): e25265.

RationaleComplement deficiency are known to be predisposed to disseminated gonococcal infection (DGI). We herein present a case of DGI involving a Japanese man who latently had a complement 7 deficiency with compound heterozygous variants.Patient ConcernsA previously healthy 51-year-old Japanese man complained of sudden-onset high fever. Physical examination revealed various skin lesions including red papules on his trunk and extremities, an impetigo-like pustule on left forearm, and tendinitis of his right forefinger.DiagnosisBlood culture testing detected gram-negative cocci, which was confirmed to be Neisseria gonorrhoeae based on mass spectrometry and a pathogen-specific PCR test.InterventionsScreening tests for underlying immunocompromised factors uncovered that complement activities (CH50) was undetectable. With a suspicion of a congenital complement deficiency, genetic analysis revealed rare single nucleotide variants in complement 7 (C7), including c.281-1G>T and a novel variant c.1454C>T (p.A485V). CH50 was normally recovered by adding purified human C7 to the patient's serum, supporting that the patient has C7 deficiency with compound heterozygous variants.OutcomesUnder a diagnosis of DGI, the patient underwent an antibiotic treatment with cefotaxime for a week and was discharged without any sequela.LessonsDGI is a rare sexually-transmitted infection that potentially induces systemic complications. Complement immunity usually defeats N. gonorrhoeae and prevents the organism from causing DGI. This case highlighted the importance of suspecting a complement deficiency when a person develops DGI.Copyright © 2021 the Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.

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