Louse-borne relapsing fever: II. Combined penicillin and tetracycline therapy in 160 Sudanese patients.

One hundred and sixty patients with louse-borne relapsing fever were treated with a combination therapy of procaine penicillin and tetracycline. Fortified procaine penicillin B.P. was given as 400,000 units in the first day. This was followed the next day by 2 g tetracycline orally in divided doses for seven days. A mild rise in temperature was observed in 22 (13-7%) patients within four hours of administering penicillin. Rigors and hypotension occurred in one patient. Relapse occurred in two patients, of whom one had concomitant typhoid and one visceral leishmaniasis. The combined therapy has been found to be effective and safe. It lacks the disadvantages of penicillin (relapses) and tetracycline (severe reaction), when each drug is used alone.