Chancroid differential diagnosis

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Yazan Daaboul, M.D.; Nate Michalak, B.A.; Serge Korjian M.D.

Overview

Differentiating Chancroid from Other Diseases

Chancroid must be differentiated from other diseases that cause genital ulcers and lymphadenopathy:

Syphilitic chancres most closely resemble chancroid lesions. A comparison is found below:^[1]

Clinical Characteristic	Disease
Clinical Characteristic	Syphilitic Chancre	Chancroid
Mode of Transmission	Mainly sexual	Mainly sexual
Cause	Treponema pallidum	Haemophilus ducreyi
Lesion Type	Pustules that may progress to ulcers	Pustules that may progress to ulcers
Lesion Pain	Typically absent	Typically present
Lesion Location	Typically genitals	Typically genitals; may occur on limbs
Lesion Size	Typically 1-2 cm in diameter	Typically 1-2 cm in diameter
Lesion Number	Multiple	1-4
Lesion Exudate	Typically non-exudative	Typically grey/yellow purulent exudate
Lesion Texture	Typically indurated	Typically soft
Lymphadenopathy	Typically present	Occurs in approx. half of patients

References

↑ Chancroid. Wikipedia (July 16, 2015). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chancroid Accessed January 15, 2016.

Overview