Comparison of erythromycin base and estolate in gonococcal urethritis

JAMA. 1977 Sep 26;238(13):1371-3.

Abstract

A randomized double-blind trial of 152 men with gonococcal urethritis compared the therapeutic efficacy of erythromycin estolate and erythromycin base. Twenty-one of 86 (24%) men treated with the estolate and 15 of 66 (23%) treated with the base had recurrent or persistent gonococcal infection when seen after a 9-g course of erythromycin. The serum erythromycin activity among estolate-treated patients (3.57 +/- 0.84 microgram/ml) was nearly twice that for base-treated patients (1.76 +/- 0.80 microgram/ml). Our findings do not support routine use of erythromycin for treatment of pregnant, penicillin-allergic patients.

Publication types

  • Clinical Trial
  • Comparative Study
  • Randomized Controlled Trial

MeSH terms

  • Clinical Trials as Topic
  • Erythromycin / analogs & derivatives*
  • Erythromycin / pharmacology
  • Erythromycin / therapeutic use*
  • Erythromycin Estolate / blood
  • Erythromycin Estolate / pharmacology
  • Erythromycin Estolate / therapeutic use*
  • Follow-Up Studies
  • Gonorrhea / complications*
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Nasopharynx / microbiology
  • Neisseria gonorrhoeae / drug effects
  • Neisseria gonorrhoeae / isolation & purification
  • Urethritis / drug therapy*
  • Urethritis / etiology

Substances

  • Erythromycin
  • Erythromycin Estolate