Gonorrhea in preschool- and school-aged children. Report of the prepubertal gonorrhea cooperative study group.

Single-dose antibiotic therapy was evaluated in 108 episodes of culture-confirmed, uncomplicated gonorrhea in 100 prepubertal children. There were 15 boys and 85 girls between 14 months and 14 years of age. Penicillin G procaine, 100,000 units/kg intramuscularly, was compared with amoxicillin trihydrate, 50 mg/kg orally. Probenecid, 25 mg/kg, was given simultaneously. Both drugs provided prompt bacteriological and clinical response. Multiple episodes of gonorrhea, presumably caused by reexposure, occurred in six girls. Oral and anal cultures were negative in all of 47 Costa Rican cases but were commonly positive in US children. Anal cultures yielded gonococci in 52% of girls and 25% of boys, and oral cultures were positive in 18% and 13%, respectively. In three instances, rectal cultures confirmed the diagnosis when vaginal cultures were negative. Gonorrhea should be considered in every child with vaginal or urethral discharge. Single-dose penicillin-probenecid or amoxicillin-probenecid treatment is curative.