Efficacy and safety of ofloxacin in the treatment of nongonococcal sexually transmitted disease.

This study compared doxycycline with ofloxacin in the treatment of nongonococcal urethritis in men and mucopurulent cervicitis in women and compared both drugs in the treatment of infections due to Chlamydia trachomatis in both men and women. Informed consent was obtained from all subjects. Eighteen men with nongonococcal urethritis and 12 with previously positive chlamydial cultures were randomly treated with doxycycline or ofloxacin. Eleven women with mucopurulent cervicitis, 14 with a previous positive untreated chlamydial culture, and nine having sexual contacts with men known to have chlamydial urethritis also were randomly treated. Culture specimens for chlamydia were obtained before treatment, five to nine days after therapy (return visit 1), and 21 to 28 days after therapy (return visit 2). Cultures for Ureaplasma urealyticum were obtained only in men. There were no significant differences in results in patients treated with doxycycline or ofloxacin. All but three of 20 men with symptoms were symptom-free on return visit 1 and all were symptom-free on return visit 2. Thirteen women with mucopurulent cervicitis had all resolved at visit 1, although signs of cervicitis reappeared at the second visit in two patients treated with doxycycline and one treated with ofloxacin. All patients with positive chlamydial cultures had negative cultures at the first return visit. One patient treated with doxycycline was positive at the second return visit. Laboratory and clinical abnormalities were mild and did not prevent completion of therapy. These data, together with previous published and unpublished data, indicate that ofloxacin is as effective as doxycycline in the treatment of chlamydial infections. The study also demonstrated that ofloxacin and doxycycline were equally effective in the treatment of nongonococcal urethritis in men and mucopurulent cervicitis in women.