title: Treatment of chancroid with a single dose of spectinomycin.
abstract: Fifty patients with lesions characteristic of chancroid were enrolled in an open-label prospective study to examine the efficacy of a single 2-gm dose of spectinomycin for treatment of chancroid. Only those patients (41 men; aged 18 to 49 years) with positive culture results for Haemophilus ducreyi were included in the analysis. Patients each received a single 2-gm dose of spectinomycin intramuscularly. The recovery process began on the third day of follow-up, as evidenced by the occurrence of epithelialization and a decrease in inflammation. By the seventh day after treatment, only one patient had ulcers; 40 patients experienced eradication of all ulcers (P less than 0.0001). The condition of nodes affected by infection also indicated efficacy of treatment (P less than 0.01); only one patient still had a swollen node by the fourteenth day after treatment. Of the 41 patients, 37 (90%) had negative culture results for H. ducreyi on the third day after treatment. Only 4 patients (10%) required a second dose of spectinomycin on the seventh day to affect a cure. Treatment with spectinomycin resulted in a 98% cure rate 14 days after treatment. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of spectinomycin was 1 microgram/mL to 3 micrograms/mL in the 15 strains studied. The drug was well tolerated and no adverse reactions were reported. It is concluded that a single 2-gm dose of spectinomycin is a safe and effective alternative drug for treatment of chancroid.
authors.affiliation: Center of Clinical Immunology, School of Medicine, National University, Bogotá, Colombia.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Guzmán
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Guzmán
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bernal
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002602:Chancroid / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology; D005260:Female; D006191:Haemophilus ducreyi / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D000198:Spectinomycin / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D000198:Spectinomycin