Audit of gonorrhoea test of cure at the genitourinary medicine department in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK

The aim of the audit was to assess the need for a microbiological test of cure for gonorrhoea when a sensitive antibiotic has been used. All cases of gonorrhoea attending our clinic in 2001 were reviewed. One hundred and seventy-three cases were diagnosed, 137 men and 36 women. Of the 126 cases where tests of cure were taken, none were positive from an infective site when a sensitive antibiotic was used. Cases of gonorrhoea from year 2000 were then analysed for test of cure. Of 125 tests of cure again none were positive. These results question the need for routine tests of cure which current national guidelines state are usually performed in UK practice. The implications of abandoning a test of cure visit are discussed.