Co-occurrence of chancroid and gonorrhea

Background: Gonorrhea and chancroid are common sexually transmitted infections in many parts of the world. Still, co-occurrence of these two conditions is uncommonly reported. Objective: We present here a patient who presented with painful genital ulcers and urethral discharge simultaneously acquired from a single exposure, which turned out to be chancroid and gonorrhea, respectively. Both conditions responded well to a single intramuscular dose of ceftriaxone 250 mg. Conclusion: This report describes the uncommon occurrence of gonorrhea and chancroid in a patient. Clinical features, relevant investigations, treatment options of these two sexually transmitted infections, and possible implications in view of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) pandemic are briefly discussed.