title: Comparative trial of erythromycin and sulphatrimethoprim in the treatment of tetracycline-resistant Vibrio cholerae O1.
abstract: The efficacy of the 2 antimicrobial compounds, erythromycin and trimethoprim-sulphamethoxazole, were compared in the treatment of the clinical symptoms of cholera and the eradication of Vibrio cholerae O1 organisms from the stools of patients infected with tetracycline-resistant strains. 47 patients with a clinical diagnosis of cholera, without prior antibiotic therapy, were included in the trial and received either erythromycin, trimethoprim-sulphamethoxazole, or a placebo twice daily. The mean number of vibrios per gram of stool decreased from 5.2 x 10(8) +/- 0.3 per ml to 0 within 36 h of admission following either erythromycin or trimethoprim-sulphamethoxazole therapy, while organisms persisted in placebo-treated controls for more than 7 d. Clinically there was a significant reduction in the number of diarrhoeal stools per day and duration of diarrhoea in the erythromycin-treated group compared with the placebo-treated controls. During the study an isolate resistant to trimethoprim-sulphamethoxazole but sensitive to erythromycin was obtained. As an adjunct to oral rehydration therapy, erythromycin may serve as an effective alternative treatment for cholera, especially in areas where trimethoprim-sulphamethoxazole resistance may be emerging.
authors.affiliation: US Naval Medical Research Unit No. 3, Cairo, Egypt.
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Burans
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Podgore
authors.forename: M M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Mansour
authors.forename: A H
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Farah
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Abbas
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Abu-Elyazeed
authors.forename: J N
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Woody
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002771:Cholera / Q000188:drug therapy; D004917:Erythromycin / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D013045:Species Specificity; D013753:Tetracycline Resistance; D015662:Trimethoprim, Sulfamethoxazole Drug Combination / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D014734:Vibrio cholerae / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D004917:Erythromycin; D015662:Trimethoprim, Sulfamethoxazole Drug Combination