title: Therapy of gonorrhea. Comparison of trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole and ampicillin.
abstract: Eighty-nine men with gonococcal urethritis were randomly treated with trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, four tablets (trimethoprin, 320 mg, and sulfamethoxazole, 1,600 mg) twice daily for two days, or ampicillin, 3.5 g, plus probenecid, 1 g, in a single dose. Forty-one (95.3%) of 43 patients who received trimethoprin-sulfamethosazole and 41 (97.6%) of 42 given ampicillin were cured. Neither drug caused major side effects. All isolates of Neisseria gonorrhoeae were susceptible in vitro to trimethoprim-sulfame-thoxazole, and all but one were inhibited by ampicillin. The ampicillin-resistant strain (minimum inhibitory concentration, 4 micrograms/ml) produced penicillinase and was reovered from a patient who responded to treatment with trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole. There was no significant correlation between the minimum inhibitory concentrations of trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole and ampicillin. It is concluded that trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole is as efficacious and safe as ampicillin in the therapy of gonococcal urethritis.
mesh_terms: D000667:Ampicillin / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006069:Gonorrhea / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009344:Neisseria gonorrhoeae / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D010403:Penicillin Resistance; D010405:Penicillinase / Q000096:biosynthesis; D011339:Probenecid / Q000627:therapeutic use; D013420:Sulfamethoxazole / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D014295:Trimethoprim / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D000667:Ampicillin; D014295:Trimethoprim; D010405:Penicillinase; D013420:Sulfamethoxazole; D011339:Probenecid