LOW-DOSE PENICILLIN CURES GONOCOCCAL ARTHRITIS

... Currently Recommended IV Use Of High Doses Is Just Not Necessary Gonococci causing disseminated infection, unlike strains causing only urogenital infection, appear to still be susceptible to penicillin G. Following a retrospective study showing high and low-dose IM procaine penicillin G to be equally effective in gonococcal arthritis, low and high-dose penicillin were compared in a double-blind randomised trail in 63 patients (mostly black females) with gonococcal arthritis. 36 received procaine penicillin G, 600,000 units IM 12-hourly for I 0 days, and 27 received a aqueous penicillin G, I 0 million units/day, infused continuously for 3 days in addition to the IM procaine penicillin regimen. There was no significant therapeutic differences either in response of the acute athritis or in sterilisation of the primary focus of infection. All patients had definite clinical improvement in 48 hours, cervical cultures were negative prior to discharge and there were no relapses. The curr,ent recommended IV regimen seems to be unnecessary; a shorter IM regimen is under trial.

Trentham, D.E. et al.: Journal of the American Medical Association 236: 2410 (22 Nov 1976)

INPHARMA 11th December, 1976 p9