Treatment of Shigellosis: V. Comparison of Azithromycin and Ciprofloxacin: A Double-Blind, Randomized, Controlled Trial

BACKGROUND: Treatment of shigellosis is currently limited by the high prevalence of multidrug-resistant strains of Shigella. OBJECTIVE: To determine the efficacy of azithromycin in the treatment of shigellosis. DESIGN: Randomized, double-blind clinical trial. SETTING: Diarrhea treatment center in Dhaka, Bangladesh. PATIENTS: 70 men with shigellosis that had lasted 72 hours or less. INTERVENTIONS: Patients stayed in the hospital for 6 days. Thirty-four patients were randomly assigned to receive 500 mg of azithromycin on study day 1, followed by 250 mg once daily for 4 days; 36 patients were assigned to receive 500 mg of ciprofloxacin every 12 hours for 5 days. MEASUREMENTS: Clinical treatment failure was considered to have occurred if frank dysentery persisted for 72 hours after therapy began…