Norfloxacin and Salmonella excretion in acute gastroenteritis--a 6-month follow-up study.

In a controlled, randomized, double-blind study, 100 patients (66 women, 34 men; age 18-69 years) with acute salmonellosis were treated with norfloxacin (400 mg) or placebo tablets twice daily for 10 days to compare the effects on the excretion time of salmonella bacteria. In all patients salmonellae were detected in the stools before the start of treatment. The follow-up included 6 stool cultures after the start of treatment: day 3-4, day 12-14, and 4 times during 1-6 months. At 3-4 days there were 98% non-excretors in the norfloxacin group (46/47 patients) compared to 38% (17/45) in the placebo group (p < 0.001). The cumulative 6-month elimination rate in norfloxacin patients at 3-4 days was 72%, which was significantly (p = 0.0001) greater than the 31% in the placebo patients. However, there was no significant difference in the proportion of non-excretors or the elimination rate between the 2 groups at the following visits. Only one patient had an adverse event resulting in discontinuation of the treatment. We conclude that norfloxacin treatment for 10 days decreased the excretion of salmonella bacteria during the first week, but there was no difference in excretion rates 1-6 months after treatment initiation in the treatment versus placebo group.

Class specific antibody response to gonococcal infection.

An enzyme immunoassay was used to determine IgM, IgG, and IgA antibodies to gonococcal pili in 68 patients with uncomplicated gonorrhoea, 35 women with pelvic inflammatory disease, and in 115 normal controls. A clear difference in response rate in all three antibody classes between patients with gonorrhoea and healthy controls was evident. Among women with gonorrhoea, the magnitude of antibody response was higher than among men with gonorrhoea, especially in the IgM class. No major differences were found in the overall distribution of serological findings between women with uncomplicated gonorrhoea and those with gonococcal pelvic inflammatory disease. Among this last group, however, high IgM antibody levels in acute phase sera were significantly associated with the isolation of Neisseria gonorrhoeae in the upper genital tract.

Alclometasone dipropionate 0.05% vs hydrocortisone 1.0%: potential to induce cutaneous atrophy in children.

Alclometasone dipropionate 0.05% and hydrocortisone 1.0% ointments were applied twice daily for three weeks to bilateral, paired eczematous lesions of children. Study ointments were assigned to left- and right-sided test sites in a randomized, double-blind manner. The potential of these preparations to induce clinically significant cutaneous atrophy was evaluated in 34 children by visual assessment of the test sites under magnification for telangiectasia. Efficacy was evaluated in 32 children by ratings of the severity of erythema, induration, and pruritus and global evaluations of eczema at the test sites. Safety and efficacy evaluations were performed prior to initial application of the study agents and after each week of treatment. Telangiectasia and other signs of cutaneous atrophy were not observed at any test site during the study, and treatment was well tolerated. Only one of the 34 children experienced an adverse effect: a mild, transient urticarial rash occurring with the application of both study ointments during the first week of the study. In general, the ointments were equally effective in relieving the children's signs and symptoms of eczema. After three weeks of therapy, improvement in the total score of ratings of the severity of signs and symptoms averaged 88% at alclometasone-treated sites and 86% at hydrocortisone-treated sites.