Official websites use. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Address for correspondence and reprint requests: Robert P. Akbari M. Patients with sexually transmitted proctitides are increasingly presenting to doctors' offices.
This may be secondary to increasing numbers of individuals participating in anal receptive intercourse and a rise in the incidence of sexually transmitted diseases. Although the sexually transmitted proctitides represent a small proportion of the overall number of cases of new proctitis, in certain populations the incidence of these diseases as causative agents is quite high, especially among men who have sex with men. Common causative agents include Neisseria gonorrhoeae , Chlamydia trachomatis , Treponema pallidum , and herpes simplex.
Diagnosis may often be made on clinical grounds alone, and treatment requires antibiotics or antivirals. The clinician must remember to keep these diseases in mind while formulating a differential for the cause of proctitis. Keywords: Sexually transmitted proctitis, proctitides, anal receptive intercourse. Proctitis is defined as inflammation located in but not necessarily confined to the rectum. The rectum itself is generally thought of as the distal 15 cm of the large intestine.
Various disease processes may cause inflammation of the rectal mucosa. Nonโsexually transmitted flora such as Escherichia coli , Shigella , Campylobacter , and Clostridium difficile can also occasionally be the causative agent. Less commonly, sexually transmitted organisms are implicated as the etiology of proctitis.
A careful history and physical examination can alert the physician to the possibility that a patient's complaint may be due to sexually transmitted disease.
