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Everything You Need to Know About Chancroid

Have a painful, pus-filled ulcer on your junk that doctors can't quite figure out? Intrigue is not always sexy, apparently. Your mysterious little sore could be the rare (like, really rare) and elusive chancroid.

What exactly is chancroid?

Chancroid is an infection caused by the bacterium Haemophilus ducreyi, the same genus as other pathogenic bacteria that can cause sepsis and meningitis in young children. If you've never heard of chancroid, that may not be surprising—today, it's pretty rare in the US. The number of cases dropped steadily between 1987 and 2001, according to the CDC; just 11 cases were diagnosed in the US in 2015. That's good news, since…

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  Treatment

Azithromycin 1 gm orally in a single dose OR Ceftriaxone 250 mg IM in a single dose

Articles of Interest

All the Details on Chancroid, an STI as Unpleasant as Its Name

The sores, or chancroids, are typically painful, which is the key distinguishing factor from syphilis — the latter is characterized by painless chancres. Chancroid ulcers may also appear tiny, or as big as 2 inches. They may bleed, or they may have gray or yellow-gray centers.

Chancroid Clinical Update

So the treatment is fairly simple. Ceftriaxone, 250 milligrams, or azithromycin..

Man with Painful Genital Ulcers

Ulcers will be soft and tender, painful, and yellowish in color with a dirty surface, and will have an undermined border and surrounding erythema. The most common site for ulcers to appear is in the inner aspect of the foreskin. Other sites include the coronal sulcus and the frenulum. It is rare to find extragenital lesions. Patients will often have one or more tender inguinal lymph nodes called buboes.

Resources

AntiMicrobe

Haemophilus ducreyi, a fastidious gram-negative bacillus is a well-known cause of chancroid, a sexually transmitted pathogen which has been associated with the sexual transmission of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

HealthJade

As chancroid is a genital ulcerative disease, its lesions are more readily apparent and therefore more commonly reported among men.

Pulsenotes

Traditionally, chancroid was very common, but with more attention paid to STI transmission with the rise in HIV cases in the 1980’s, the prevalence of chancroid has been falling. Herpes simplex is now the most common genital ulcerative disease.

ScienceDirect

Chancroid is often diagnosed clinically, although Gram stain of material from an ulcer or suppurative node may suggest the diagnosis.

StatPearls

Chancroid is an exceedingly rare sexually transmitted infection, both in the United States and globally. Knowledge regarding its true prevalence is made difficult by the lack of readily available diagnostic testing and by its similar presentation to other more common causes of genital ulcer diseases.