[Gonorrhoic perihepatitis. Fitz-Hugh-Curtis syndrome]

The Fitz-Hugh--Curtis syndrome is an extragenital manifestation of gonorrhea, characterized by fibrinous inflammation of the subphrenic area with violinstring-like adhesions between the liver surface and the parietal peritoneum. When such patients present with acute upper right quadrant pain, the differential diagnosis to other abdominal emergencies (cholecystitis, peptic ulcer disease etc.) may be difficult, because it will not always be possible to isolate the causative agent from the external genitals. In such cases only a laparoscopic approach will allow a correct diagnosis. Two case reports are discussed in the light of the literature.