Histologic documentation of gonococcal infection in the absence of a culturable organism.

The high incidence of negative routine cultures, in the presence of suppurative involvement of a joint suggested a possible role for alternative diagnostic techniques. Bedside cultures with hypertonic and anaerobic media were utilized to evaluate synovium and synovial membrane in gonococcal arthritis. This is the first histologic documentation of the diagnosis of gonococcal arthritis in the absence of a culturable organism.