A trial of minocycline given after exposure to prevent gonorrhea

• Published in: The New England journal of medicine Vol. 300; no. 19; p. 1074
• Main Authors: Harrison, W O, Hooper, R R, Wiesner, P J, Campbell, A F, Karney, W W, Reynolds, G H, Jones, O G, Holmes, K K
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 10.05.1979
• Subjects: Administration, Oral; Coitus; Drug Evaluation; Drug Resistance, Microbial; Far East; Gonorrhea - drug therapy; Gonorrhea - prevention & control; Humans; Male; Minocycline - administration & dosage; Minocycline - adverse effects; Minocycline - pharmacology; Minocycline - therapeutic use; Naval Medicine; Neisseria gonorrhoeae - drug effects; Sex Work; Tetracycline - pharmacology; Tetracyclines - therapeutic use; Time Factors; United States; Urethritis - etiology; Urethritis - prevention & control
• ISSN: 0028-4793
• DOI: 10.1056/NEJM197905103001903

In a prospective evaluation of antibiotic prophylaxis against gonorrhea, 1080 men were given 200 mg of oral minocycline or placebo after sexual intercourse with prostitutes in a Far Eastern port. Later, at sea, gonococcal infection was detected in 57 of 565 men given placebo and 24 of 515 men given minocycline (P less than 0.001). Minocycline prophylaxis completely prevented infection by gonococci susceptible to 0.75 microgram or less of tetracycline per milliliter, reduced the risk of infection or prolonged the incubation period in men exposed to gonococci susceptible to 1.0 to 2.0 micrograms per milliliter, but did not prevent infection or prolong incubation in men exposed to gonococci resistant to 2.0 micrograms. Minocycline did not increase the proportion of asymptomatic infections. Minocycline prophylaxis would probably have limited effectiveness as a public-health measure because of the tendency to select resistant gonococci.