Azithromycin versus doxycycline for the treatment of urogenital Chlamydia trachomatis infection—a retrospective study

Abstract

Objective: The objective of this retrospective study was to compare the efficacy of azithromycin versus doxycycline in the treatment of urogenital Chlamydia trachomatis infection. Methods: A retrospective study was conducted on all patients who tested positive for Chlamydia in our clinic from May 2017 to May 2019. Patients who did not follow the standard dose and course of treatment, did not receive the test-of-cure, or received other drugs that may affect the efficacy were excluded. Results: Of the 68 patients who initially received a 1 g single dose azithromycin, the total microbiological cure rate was 79.4% (54/68), while the microbiological cure rate in 19 patients who received doxycycline treatment was 100% (19/19). Use of drugs from different manufacturers and shorter time after completion of treatment to perform test-of-cure might lead to the possibility of underestimation of microbiological cure rate. Conclusions: These results suggest that 7-day doxycycline should be recommended as the 1st line treatment for urogenital Chlamydia infection. Considering the convenient dosage, ong-gram single dose of azithromycin could be recommended as an alternative treatment for urogenital Chlamydia infection.

Keywords

• chlamydia trachomatis
• azithromycin
• doxycycline