Ciprofloxacin versus doxycycline in the treatment of uncomplicated urogenital Chlamydia trachomatis infections. A double-blind comparative study

Two-hundred patients with confirmed Chlamydia trachomatis infection of the urogenital region were treated with either ciprofloxacin 1.5 g/day or doxycycline 100 mg/day for seven days. One-hundred and fifty-seven patients were males and 43 females. C. trachomatis was isolated prior to treatment from urethra alone in 155 patients, from cervix alone in 27 and from both urethra and cervix in 15. The first re-examination was carried out at the end of treatment and the second one week later. Six patients in the ciprofloxacin group and three in the doxycycline group never returned for the first re-examination. At the second re-examination there were seven defaulters in the ciprofloxacin group and 11 in the doxycycline group. Altogether there were 12 bacteriological failures in both groups. Clinical failure despite bacteriological cure occurred in 20 patients in the ciprofloxacin group and eight in the doxycycline group. The total number of treatment failures was 32 in the ciprofloxacin group and 20 in the doxycycline group. The results suggested that neither treatment was efficient enough in the treatment of uncomplicated urogenital infections caused by C. trachomatis.