Test-of-cure stool cultures for traveler's diarrhea.
Whether enteropathogens were eradicated or persisted in test-of-cure stool cultures from 251 patients with traveler's diarrhea, the durations of diarrhea were similar within the antimicrobial agent-treated (32 versus 33 h) and placebo-treated (82 versus 96 h) groups. Routine test-of-cure stool cultures can be useful for evaluating treatment failures and for assessing asymptomatic carriage of enteropathogens after treatment, but they are not mandated in the design of placebo-controlled antimicrobial treatment trials in traveler's diarrhea when the focus of the trial is clinical efficacy.
Ericsson
C D
CD
Program in Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology, University of Texas Medical School, Houston 77030.
DuPont
H L
HL
Mathewson
J J
JJ
Johnson
P C
PC
de la Cabada
F J
FJ
Bitsura
J A
JA
D002353:Carrier State / Q000175:diagnosis*; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology*; D006801:Humans; D014195:Travel