Minute treatment with thiamphenicol in water for acute gonococcal urethritis in male patients.

Eighty-two male patients with acute gonococcal urethritis were given a single oral dose of 2.5 g of granulated thiamphenicol dissolved in water, and the results of treatment were evaluated after 48-72 hr and one week. Of the 76 patients who returned for the first follow-up examination, 75 (98.7%) no longer had Neisseria gonorrhoeae in urethral smears or cultures. Five of these patients did not return for the second follow-up examination, and another four who did return were found to be reinfected as a result of reexposure. Of the remaining 67 patients, 66 (98.5%) no longer had N. gonorrhoeae in urethral smears or cultures. Thus, the overall success rate among the 71 patients who completed the study (with the four cases of reinfection considered instances of failure of therapy) was 93%. The ease of administration, absence of adverse reactions, low failure rate, and low incidence of residual urethral secretions (4.5%) justify the use of thiamphenicol as the drug of choice for the treatment of acute gonococcal urethritis in male patients.