Studies reporting outcome of azithromycin treatment of Neisseria gonorrhoeae infection of the urethra or endocervix
| Author and year of publication | Participants | Study design | Azithromycin dose | Sensitivity testing to azithromycin | Bacterial cure rate of evaluable participants | Comments |
| Handsfield 19944 | Male and female STD clinics, USA | RCT versus ceftriaxone | 2 g | No | 370/374 (98.9%) | Side effects reported by 35.3% (moderate 10.1%; severe 2.9%) |
| Khaki 20075 | Males STD clinic, New Delhi | RCT versus ceftriaxone | 2 g | Yes | 22/22 (100%) | Side effects <10%—all mild |
| Lassus 19906 | Male and female Helsinki University Central Hospital | RCT versus doxycycline | 1 g 500/250/250 mg | Yes | 20/20 (100%) 22/22 (100%) | No side effects reported by patients |
| Steingrimsson 19907 | Males + 1 female. STD clinic Reykjavik | RCT versus doxycycline | 1 g 500 mg×2 500/250/250 mg | Yes | 11/12 (91.7%) 7/8 (87.5%) 7/7 (100%) | Failure MIC 0.125 mg/l Failure MIC 0.5 mg/l Mild sideeffects 8.5% |
| Odugbemi 19938 | Male and female STD clinics Nigeria | Non-comparative | 1 g | No | 114/120 (95%) Inconsistency of figures in paper | Cure = clinical + bacteriological Gastrointestinal side effects 2.7%—all mild/moderate |
| Waugh 19939 | Male and female, STD clinic Leeds, UK | Non-comparative | 1 g | Yes | 85/89 (95.5%) | MIC of failures 0.25 mg/l |
| Steingrimsson 199410 | Males only. STD clinic Reykjavik | RCT versus doxycycline | 1 g | Yes | 27/28 (96.4%) | Failure MIC 0.125 mg/l Side effects ‘negligible’ |
| Gruber 199511 | Men; STD centre Rijeka, Croatia | RCT versus doxycycline | 1 g | No | 24/25 (96.0%) | No details on failure. Gastrointestinal side effects 4/66 (6%) |
| Gruber 199712 | Males and females, Rijeka, Croatia | RCT versus ciprofloxacin | 1 g | No | 48/50 (96.0%) | Gastrointestinal side effects 4/50 (8%)—all mild |
| Swanston 200113 | Male and female STD clinic Trinidad | Non-comparative | 1 g | Yes | 125/127 (98.4%) | Failures MIC 0.064 mg/l and 0.094 mg/l No side effects |
| Rustomjee 200214 | Symptomatic women. STD clinic Durban, S. Africa | RCT versus ciprofloxacin + doxycycline | 1 g | No | 30/31 (96.8%) | One failure in dual infected patient. Side effects were ‘few and minor’ |
| Habib 200415 | Male and female STD clinic Wolverhampton, UK | Retrospective review | 1 g | Not stated | 168/170 (98.8%) | Failures: 1 ‘due to azithromycin-resistant strain’; 1 attributed to vomiting soon after 1 g dose |
MIC, minimal inhibitory concentration; RCT, randomised control trial.