TREATMENT OF CHANCROID - COMPARISON OF ONE WEEK OF SULFISOXAZOLE WITH SINGLE DOSE DOXYCYCLINE

In a prospective study of chancroid, the therapeutic outcome in 32 patients treated with a single dose of 300 mg of oral doxycycline was compared to 30 patients treated with sulfisoxazole 1 g orally 4 times daily for 1 week. Adequate follow-up was obtained in 30 patients treated with doxycycline and 19 patients treated with sulfisoxazole. Six patients who received sulfisoxazole and 8 who received doxycycline had an inadequate response. Four patients vomited shortly after receiving doxycycline and in 1 of these the genital ulcer failed to heal. Two sulfisoxazole failures were due to lack of compliance. Patients with large inguinal buboes or large genital ulcers responded more slowly. No reason was apparent for the poor response to doxycycline in 4 patients. The potential advantages of single dose doxycycline therapy for chancroid are offset by nausea and vomiting and poor response in some patients. © 1979, by The British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy.