Comparison between Efficacy of Ciprofioxacin-Doxycycline and Rifampin-Doxycycline Regimens in Treatment of Brucellosis

Background and Objective: Brucellosis is an endemic disease in Iran that has a worldwide spread and is associated with chronic disabilities in humans. Combination therapy of brucellosis leads to recovery of symptoms, shortening of the symptomatic intervals, and decrease in the rate of relapse and drug resistance. Considering the use of rifampin in the treatment of tuberculosis, and the necessity for an alternative treatment in regions endemic for both tuberculosis and brucellosis, in this study we compared the efficiency of the WHOchr('۳۹')s standard regimen of rifampin-doxycycline (RD) versus ciprofloxacin-doxycycline (CD) for the treatment of brucellosis. Materials and Methods: This randomized controlled trial was performed on ۹۰ patients, affected with brucellosis, who were referred to the Infectious Disease Clinics at Arak University of medical sciences. The patients were randomly divided into two groups: the DR group, received ۱۰۰ mg of Doxycycline twice a day and ۳۰۰ mg of rifampin Bid daily for eight weeks and the CD group, received ۱۰۰ mg of doxycycline plus ۵۰۰ mg of ciprofloxacin twice a day for eight weeks. The patients were analyzed for the relief of symptoms, drug side effects, and laboratory findings during the treatment. Results: In this study, the rate of symptom relief and laboratory findings in both groups were similar. The relief of symptoms was seen in ۹۳.۲% and ۸۳.۹% of the patients for the DR and CD groups, respectively (P=۰.۱۸۲). The side effects of the drug were not significant in either groups, with no significant difference, and did not lead to discontinuation of the therapy. Conclusion: Due to the similar efficacy of CD and DR regimens in the treatment of brucellosis and considering the usage of rifampin in regions with high prevalence of tuberclusis, the CD regimen is recommended as an appropriate treatment.

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Keywords: Doxycycline , Rifampin , Ciprofloxacin , Treatment of brucellosisKeywords: Doxycycline , Rifampin , Ciprofloxacin , Treatment of brucellosis