Single-Dose Azithromycin for the Treatment of Cholera in Adults

Abstract

Single-dose azithromycin was effective in the treatment of severe cholera in adults. The lack of efficacy of ciprofloxacin may result from its diminished activity against V. cholerae O1 strains currently circulating in Bangladesh. (ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00229944.).

Single-dose azithromycin for childhood cholera

“…I n this issue, Kaushik,et al(1), reconfirmed the statement made in an earlier study "singledose azithromycin has been established as an effective drug for the treatment of cholera caused by susceptible strains of V cholera in both adults and children" the same regimens were compared in adults with severe cholera (2).…”

“…Though the study design was almost consistently followed with the recent publication in Lancet and NEJM but the authors used different outcome variable (72 h instead of 48 h), that made it difficult to compare it with earlier studies (2)(3)(4)(5). Although, in the discussion, authors did state the discrepancies in using different criteria for the clinical and bacteriological success rates, among the references quoted, the success rate was based on 48 h definition in 4 out of 5 relevant trial articles.…”

An age-structured model for the spread of epidemic cholera: Analysis and simulation

“…The antibiotic treatment lessens the duration and quantity of an infected human's contribution to the concentration of bacteria in the environment, while hydration therapy saves lives without lessening an infected individual's contribution to the environment. We note that in reality antibiotic treatment would not be administered without hydration therapy, and that additionally there are great concerns of the spread of resistant bacteria as a result of antibiotic therapy [35,28,29]. However, this investigation provides a first step in developing the numerical and theoretical tools to consider a model with more complex control methods that may more accurately reflect present practices.…”

Evidence Based Treatment of Cholera: A review of Existing Literature

“…WHO guidelines for antibiotic treatment of cholera are reported in Table 4. (Saha et al, 2006, Nelson et al, 2010. The choice of antimicrobial should depend on the known resistance/sensitivity pattern of V. cholerae in the region.…”