Recommendations for treatment of chancroid, 1993

Since the 1989 Sexually Transmitted Diseases Treatment Guidelines were published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, changes in the efficacy of the recommended and alternative regimens for the treatment of Haemophilus ducreyi infections have been described. Among recommended agents, erythromycin remains effective, and although a single dose of ceftriaxone appears to remain effective in the United States, limited data from Kenya have shown that this regimen has been associated with treatment failures. Of alternative treatment regimens, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole has been associated with widespread failure, but little work has been done to further evaluate the efficacy of the amoxicillin/clavulanic acid and ciprofloxacin regimens. Of the new antimicrobials, azithromycin has been very effective in the United States, but the efficacy of this drug elsewhere has not been thoroughly evaluated. Fleroxacin has been very effective in Kenya. Data from Africa indicate that patients who are infected with the human immunodeficiency virus do not respond to therapy as well as patients who are not, and patients who are uncircumcised may not respond as well to therapy as do patients who are circumcised.