Two multicenter trials compared single-dose oral
therapy with 400 mg of
ofloxacin or 3 g of
amoxicillin plus 1 g of
probenecid in the treatment of uncomplicated
gonorrhea in 160 men and 102 women. Patients with a known diagnosis of Chlamydia trachomatis
infection were excluded. All pretreatment isolates of Neisseria gonorrhoeae were susceptible to
ofloxacin (minimal inhibitory concentration less than or equal to 2 micrograms/ml), whereas roughly 50 percent exhibited intermediate susceptibility to
ampicillin (minimal inhibitory concentration, 0.125 to 2.0 micrograms/ml). Post-treatment culture results showed that
ofloxacin had eradicated N. gonorrhoeae in 97.5 percent (41 men) of 42 men and all 28 women evaluated.
Amoxicillin-
probenecid achieved microbiologic cures in 92.7 percent (51 men) of 55 men and 92.6 percent (25 women) of 27 women evaluated. Clinical cure rates among initially symptomatic patients were 84.6 percent (33 men) of 39 men and 81.8 percent (nine women) of 11 women with
ofloxacin and 83.0 percent (44 men) of 53 men and 66.7 percent (10 women) of 15 women with
amoxicillin-
probenecid. No
drug-related adverse effects were noted in
ofloxacin-treated patients. One patient each in the
amoxicillin-
probenecid group reported
nausea,
diarrhea, and
vaginitis. These results demonstrate that single-dose
ofloxacin is as effective as
amoxicillin-
probenecid in eradicating N. gonorrhoeae and relieving clinical signs and symptoms of gonococcal
infections in both men and women.