Comparison of cefuroxime and penicillin in the treatment of uncomplicated gonorrhea

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Abstract
In a randomized double-blind trial, 216 men and 142 women infected with uncomplicated gonorrhea were treated with either 1.5 g of cefuroxime or 4.8 x 10(6) U of aqueous procaine penicillin G intramuscularly and 1.0 g of probenecid. The cure rates in the treatment groups were 96 and 95%, respectively. Intramuscularly administered cefuroxime was better tolerated than was procaine penicillin. Comparative antibiotic susceptibility studies revealed that cefuroxime and penicillin were about equally active and that both were more active than cefamandole or cefoxitin. Because cefuroxime is not degraded by the action of beta-lactamase enzymes, it has promise as an alternative to spectinomycin in the treatment of penicillinase-producing Neisseria gonorrhoeae infections.