RESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Disseminated gonococcal infection (DGI), a complication of untreated gonorrhea, is rarely reported through routine surveillance. We sought to improve local surveillance system capacity to estimate and monitor the incidence of DGI in Virginia. METHODS: We modified surveillance protocols to identify possible DGI cases using information extracted from gonorrhea case reports and performed provider follow-up using standardized case report forms to confirm DGI diagnosis and collect clinical information. Suspect cases included those with a laboratory report indicating sterile site of specimen collection (e.g., blood, synovial fluid) and/or intravenous (IV) treatment. We performed descriptive analyses to summarize the characteristics of suspect and confirmed DGIs and estimated incidence. RESULTS: After piloting protocols in 2018 to 2019, we identified 405 suspect DGI cases from 29,294 gonorrhea cases reported in 2020 to 2021 (1.4%). We initiated investigations for 298 (73.6%) of the suspect cases, received provider responses for 105 (25.9%), and confirmed 19 DGI cases (4.7%). Positive laboratory reports from nonmucosal sites were the most reliable predictor of confirmed DGI status, but most were not confirmed as DGI even when provider follow-up was successful. The confirmed and estimated incidence of DGI were 0.06% and 0.22%, respectively. Sixteen (84%) of the confirmed cases were older than 25 years, 3 (16%) were HIV positive, and approximately half were male and non-Hispanic Black. Most (15 [74%]) were hospitalized, and common manifestations included septic arthritis and bacteremia. CONCLUSIONS: We improved surveillance for DGI in Virginia while incurring minor programmatic costs. Additional efforts to improve the completeness and quality of surveillance data for DGI are needed.