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SUMMARY Culture samples of Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Escherichia coli were studied by transmission and electron microscopy to evaluate the effect of different preparation procedures on the pilation of these organisms. Unfixed as well as fixed bacteria showed only few, long, filamentous appendages when investigated in ultrathin sections, negatively stained specimens, or critical-point dried preparations. Snap-frozen specimens of E. coli showed many short and thin pili after being shadowed with carbon and platinum whereas those of N. gonorrhoeae showed only some type-C-like pili. Thus, the number and morphological appearance of pili appear to be greatly influenced by the preparation techniques used for study by electronmicroscopy. Conclusions as to the type and the infectivity of a bacterial strain can, therefore, not be based on purely morphological criteria.

We report the results of several trials aimed at evaluating the quinolones in urogenital infections. In Chlamydia trachomatis infections, ofloxacin (200 mg b.i.d. for 10 days) gave a cure rate of 98% (n = 66), and fleroxacin (400 mg s.i.d. for 7 days) provided a cure rate of 89% (n = 19). A double-blind study comparing fleroxacin (600 mg s.i.d.) to doxycycline (100 mg b.i.d.) for 7 days showed similar high cure rates for both regimens (100%; n = 23). In Mycoplasma hominis infections, ofloxacin (200 mg b.i.d. for 10 days) yielded a cure rate of 86% (n = 50) for M. hominis and 55% (n = 43) for Ureaplasma urealyticum. Gonococcal infections (n = 122) were all cured by a single dose of 200 mg ofloxacin. Both ofloxacin and fleroxacin were well tolerated and may be recommended for patients with chlamydial or uncomplicated gonococcal infections, although 600 mg fleroxacin showed a higher incidence of adverse events compared to doxycycline.

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