Treatment of Nongonococcal Urethritis with Ciprofloxacin

A randomized, double-blind study was performed in 225 men with nongonococcal urethritis or postgonococcal urethritis, in which the efficacy of ciprofloxacin (750 mg twice daily for seven days) was compared with that of doxycycline (100 mg twice daily for seven days). Of the 145 evaluable patients completing three weeks or more of follow-up or reaching an end point, 74 patients received doxycycline and 71 received ciprofloxacin. Chlamydia trachomatis and mixed infections with Ureaplasma urealyticum were more frequent in the cip, ofloxacin group, but the differences were not significant. The overall cure rates were similar for the two regimens (52.1 percent for ciprofloxacin and 60.8 percent for doxycycline; p greater than 0.3). However, in patients with chlamydial infections alone, ciprofloxacin was significantly less effective than doxycycline (45.5 percent versus 75 percent; p = 0.04). In patients with U. urealyticum infections alone, there was a more favorable trend in the ciprofloxacin group (69.2 percent versus 45 percent; p = 0.12). In patients whose culture results were negative, the responses were very similar (60.9 percent for ciprofloxacin and 64.3 percent for doxycycline). Both drugs were well tolerated; side effects, which were mostly gastrointestinal in nature, were mild.