Gonorrhoea.

INTRODUCTION

In the UK, diagnosis rates for gonorrhoea in 2008 were 152/100,000 for men aged 20 to 24 years and 135/100,000 for women aged 16 to 19 years. Resistance to one or more antimicrobial agent is reported in more than one quarter of isolates. Co-infection with Chlamydia trachomatis is reported in 10% to 40% of people with gonorrhoea in the US and UK.

METHODS AND OUTCOMES

We conducted a systematic review and aimed to answer the following clinical questions: What are the effects of treatments for uncomplicated infections in men and non-pregnant women; and in pregnant women? What are the effects of treatments for disseminated gonococcal infection? What are the effects of dual treatment for gonorrhoea and chlamydia infection? We searched: Medline, Embase, The Cochrane Library, and other important databases up to March 2010 (Clinical Evidence reviews are updated periodically, please check our website for the most up-to-date version of this review). We included harms alerts from relevant organisations such as the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

RESULTS

We found 24 systematic reviews, RCTs, or observational studies that met our inclusion criteria. We performed a GRADE evaluation of the quality of evidence for interventions.

CONCLUSIONS

In this systematic review we present information relating to the effectiveness and safety of the following interventions: antibiotic regimens (dual treatment, multiple dose, single dose).