Mezlocillin in gonorrhoea: a pilot study

A pilot study was carried out in 50 patients with uncomplicated, untreated gonorrhoea to asses the effectiveness of mezlocillin, a new semi-synthetic penicillin. Patients received a single intravenous injection of 2 g mezlocillin and were followed-up for periods up to 101 days. Four patients defaulted immediately. Clinical and bacteriological findings showed that only 1 of the 46 patients followed-up had failed to respond to treatment, indicating a cure rate of 97.8%. Five (10.8%) male patients had developed post-gonococcal urethritis when seen 3 weeks or later in the follow-up period.