[The so-called "benign gonoccocal sepsis"].

Five female patients with benign gonococcal sepsis were seen during the second half of 1974. All cases presented the typical clinical triad of fever, arthralgias and characteristic skin lesions, the macroscopic and microscopic appearance of which could be best classified as superficial vasculitis. Skin biopsies were taken from 3 patients and the histopathological findings are discussed in detail. Genital symptoms were slight or absent, and only very few gonococci could be detected in stained smears from genital sites. However, Neisseria gonorrhoeae could be cultured without difficulty from the genitourinary tract in all cases, while cultures from blood and skin lesions were sterile. In fresh pustules gonococci could be demonstrated by immunofluorescence in 2 cases. The complement-fixation-test is regarded as a useful supplementary diagnostic procedure.