Diagnostic treatment and reporting criteria for gonorrhoea in sexually transmitted disease clinics in England and Wales. 2: treatment and reporting criteria.

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Abstract
The current methods of treatment and reporting are described. The most common form of treatment for gonorrhea in men and women was a single dose of oral ampicillin, usually 2 g. In proportionately more of the clinics treating women, treatment was given over several days. The wide use of ampicillin represents a marked change in treatment practice during the last decade. Procaine penicillin was the most commonly used parenteral preparation. The 2 dosages used most often for men were 1.2 and 2.4 megaunits. In women the commonest regimen was 2.4 megaunits and again there was a tendency for treatment to be given over several days. Epidemiological treatment was used widely and in 1/3 of clinics this occurred without confirmation that the patient was a true contact. Consultants used varying diagnoses on the quarterly returns for patients treated epidemiologically in whom the smears and/or cultures were negative. Most clinics classified these cases as ''other conditions requiring treatment'' (D2) but as many as 19% of clinics designated these cases as being ''true'' gonorrhoea. This may result in an overestimate of the number of cases of ''real'' gonorrhoea treated in England and Wales.