Tropical Journal of Pharmaceutical Research

Original Research Article | OPEN ACCESS

A meta-analysis of the efficacy of azithromycin and benzathine penicillin in early syphilis

Hai-Ying Li^1,2, Hui-Qing Qu³, Xiu-Min Wang², Yu-Jie Zhang², Fu-Ren Zhang^1,4

¹Department of Dermatology, Shandong Provincial Hospital for Skin Diseases, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, 250022; ²Department of Dermatology; ³Department of Blood Transfusion, The Affiliated Hospital of Binzhou Medical University, Binzhou, Shandong, 256600; ⁴Department of Dermatology, Shandong Provincial Institute of Dermatology and Venereology, Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, Jinan, Shandong, 250022.

For correspondence:- Fu-Ren Zhang Email: q_w_l726@sina.com

Accepted: 9 January 2018 Published: 28 February 2018

Citation: Li H, Qu H, Wang X, Zhang Y, Zhang F. A meta-analysis of the efficacy of azithromycin and benzathine penicillin in early syphilis. Trop J Pharm Res 2018; 17(2):345-350 doi: 10.4314/tjpr.v17i2.21

© 2018 The authors.
This is an Open Access article that uses a funding model which does not charge readers or their institutions for access and distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0) and the Budapest Open Access Initiative (http://www.budapestopenaccessinitiative.org/read), which permit unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited..

Abstract

Purpose: To systematically analyze the efficacy of azithromycin and benzathine penicillin in early syphilis, and provide guidance for diagnosis and treatment.

Methods: Databases were searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and control studies according to keywords, and inclusion and exclusion criteria. Related documents and meeting records were also searched manually to extract study types, basic information of study objects, intervention measurements and study results, and evaluation of the quality of the methodology used.

Results: Three studies were excluded from the review. The quality evaluation was B grade, and heterogenicity was good. We adopted a fixed effect model to conduct the meta-analysis. There was no significant difference in the cure rate between azithromycin and benzathine penicillin administered for 6 months. The ORs for 3 time points were 0.96 (95% CI = 0.71, 1.29), 0.01 (95% CI = -0.05, 0.06), and 0.04 (95% CI = -0.02, 0.11; p < 0.05). There were no significant differences in the incidence of adverse events among the three studies.

Conclusion: There was no apparent difference in the efficacy of azithromycin and benzathine penicillin in early syphilis. The advantages of azithromycin included good compliance, a long half-life, and a high economic benefit

Keywords: Early syphilis, Azithromycin, Benzathine penicillin, Curative effect