New treatment options for infections caused by increasingly antimicrobial-resistant Neisseria gonorrhoeae

Expert Rev Anti Infect Ther. 2016;14(2):243-56. doi: 10.1586/14787210.2016.1134315.

Abstract

The emergence of high-level resistance to ceftriaxone is giving rise to serious concern about absence of effective treatment options to cure gonococcal infections. Increasing the dosage regimen can be applied to ceftriaxone and azithromycin, but the emergence of high-level resistance has already been reported. Spectinomycin is another active drug but has low efficacy in the treatment of pharyngeal gonorrhoea. Conventional antibiotics could be introduced for gonococcal treatment, but they have some limitations, such as the absence of clinical trials and breakpoint. Combining antibiotics is another promising method to cure patients and to prevent the emergence of resistance. The most important strategy to maintain the efficacy of antibiotics is rapid detection and dissemination control of novel resistant isolate.

Keywords: Azithromycin; Ceftriaxone; Combination therapy; Dual therapy; ETX0914; Neisseria gonorrhoeae; New treatment options; Solithromycin; Spectinomycin.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Anti-Bacterial Agents / therapeutic use*
  • Azithromycin / administration & dosage
  • Barbiturates / therapeutic use
  • Ceftriaxone / administration & dosage
  • Drug Resistance, Bacterial / physiology*
  • Drug Therapy, Combination
  • Gonorrhea / drug therapy*
  • Gonorrhea / microbiology
  • Humans
  • Isoxazoles
  • Macrolides / therapeutic use
  • Morpholines
  • Neisseria gonorrhoeae / physiology*
  • Neisseriaceae Infections / drug therapy
  • Neisseriaceae Infections / microbiology
  • Oxazolidinones
  • Pharyngitis / drug therapy
  • Pharyngitis / microbiology
  • Spectinomycin / therapeutic use
  • Spiro Compounds / therapeutic use
  • Triazoles / therapeutic use

Substances

  • Anti-Bacterial Agents
  • Barbiturates
  • Isoxazoles
  • Macrolides
  • Morpholines
  • Oxazolidinones
  • Spiro Compounds
  • Triazoles
  • Ceftriaxone
  • Azithromycin
  • Spectinomycin
  • solithromycin
  • zoliflodacin