Treatment of early syphilis with azithromycin.

An open, noncomparative study was performed to establish the efficacy of azithromycin in the treatment of early syphilis. Sixteen patients were treated with oral azithromycin: 1g the first day and then 500 mg for the following 8 days. Two patients were excluded from the study, leaving 14 patients for the evaluation of the efficacy. Venereal Disease Research Laboratory (VDRL) negativity was observed in 3 out of 6 patients treated for primary syphilis after 3 months and in all patients after 6 months. Two of 8 patients treated for manifest or early latent secondary syphilis had VDRL negativity after 3 months and 4 patients after 6 months. This study demonstrates that azithromycin is effective in the treatment of early syphilis. Two patients experienced gastrointestinal side effects which did not require treatment interruption.