Comparison of Erythromycin Stearate and Oxytetracycline in the Treatment of Nongonococcal Urethritis: Their Efficacy against Chlamydia Trachomatis

Abstract

The effectiveness of Oxytetracycline 250 mg. 6 hourly for 2 weeks and erythromycin stearate 500 mg. 12 hourly for 2 weeks in the treatment of non-gonococcal urethritis (NGU) have been compared; cell culture for Chlamydia trachomatis was performed before and after treatment. There was no significant difference between the results obtained with the two antimicrobials. Both were clinically effective in the treatment of Chlamydia-positive NGU. Response to therapy was rapid; 2 weeks after treatment began, only 5 (14%) of 35 men treated with Oxytetracycline and 4 (13%) of 30 men treated with erythromycin stearate still had urethritis. Clinical improvement was accompanied in the majority of cases by failure to re-isolate C. trachomatis, but a small number of men who had not been exposed to the risk of reinfection yielded chlamydiae after therapy with Oxytetracycline or erythromycin stearate. The results of treatment of men with NGU from whom C. trachomatis had not been isolated were similar to those obtained in isolation-positive patients; again, there was no significant difference in the efficacy of the two antimicrobials. It is concluded that erythromycin stearate is a useful alternative to tetracyclines in the treatment of NGU.