[Epidemiologic and therapeutic study on gonococcal infections--clinical efficacy of cefetamet pivoxil]

We studied the epidemiology of 109 cases of gonococcal infections (105 males with urethritis and 4 females with cervicitis), together with the basic and clinical effects of cefetamet pivoxil in the cases. The peak of age distribution of the male patients was in the younger half of their twenties, and all of the 4 female cases were between 20 and 39 years old. The major source of infections in the males younger than 25 years old was their girl friends or so-called pick-up friends, and that of the males older than 25 years old workers serving at an amusement center, for example, bars and so-called special massage parlor, which accounted for about three fourths of the male cases between 35 and 44 years old. The distribution of the MIC (inoculum size; 10(6) CFU/ml) of Cefetamet against beta-lactamase non penicillinase producing Neisseria gonorrhoeae (non-PPNG) ranged from 0.025 to 0.1 microgram/ml and that against beta-lactamase producing Neisseria gonorrhoeae ranged from 0.025 to 0.05 microgram/ml. The isolation rate of PPNG was 10.2% (9/88). In male patients with gonococcal urethritis, the efficacy rate was 100% on days 3 and 7 for 1,000 mg single dose and 7-day treatment and 500 mg single dose treatment. One of the cases treated with 250 mg single dose therapy was unchanged at 3, but the efficacy rate of the remaining cases was 100% at day 7. Complicated urethritis with C. trachomatis was noticed in 25.7% (5/105) of the male urethritis and in 25.0% (1/4) of the female cervicitis cases. The only side effect was diarrhea observed in 1 of the 124 case (0.8%).