A case of duplicitous diplococci

Disseminated gonococcal infection (DGI) is an uncommon complication of acute gonorrhoea that occurs more frequently in women than in men. Inherited complement deficiency or episodic complement deficiency in association with flare up of other diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) may predispose individuals to gonococcal bacteraemia. We report a case of DGI in a patient with pre-existing SLE that was initially masked by a lupus flare.