Chancroid Medication

  • Author: Pamela Arsove, MD, FACEP; Chief Editor: Burke A Cunha, MD   more...
 
Updated: Dec 1, 2010
 

Medication Summary

The goal of therapy is the eradication of the organism. Considerations for medical treatment include pregnancy and HIV status and compliance. In addition, medication to cover multiple STDs are usually instituted. Symptomatic improvement after medical treatment is usually seen in 3 days, and objective evidence of ulcer healing in a week. Treatment failures may occur if the patient is not compliant with the medication or if the wrong diagnosis was made, as well as in HIV patients who may need a prolonged course of treatment.

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Antibiotics

Class Summary

Therapy must be comprehensive and cover all likely pathogens in the context of the clinical setting.

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Azithromycin (Zithromax)

 

Treats mild-to-moderate microbial infections.

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Ceftriaxone (Rocephin)

 

Third-generation cephalosporin with broad-spectrum gram-negative activity. Lower efficacy against gram-positive organisms. Higher efficacy against resistant organisms. Arrests bacterial growth by binding to 1 or more penicillin-binding proteins.

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Erythromycin (E.E.S., E-Mycin, Eryc, Ery-Tab, Erythrocin)

 

Inhibits bacterial growth, possibly by blocking dissociation of peptidyl tRNA from ribosomes, causing RNA-dependent protein synthesis to arrest. For treatment of staphylococcal and streptococcal infections.

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Ciprofloxacin (Cipro)

 

Fluoroquinolone with activity against pseudomonads, streptococci, MRSA, Staphylococcus epidermidis, and most gram-negative organisms, but no activity against anaerobes. Inhibits bacterial DNA synthesis and, consequently, growth.

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Contributor Information and Disclosures
Author

Pamela Arsove, MD, FACEP  Associate Residency Director, Department of Emergency Medicine, Hofstra Northshore Long Island Jewish School of Medicine; Attending Physician, Department of Emergency Medicine, Long Island Jewish Medical Center; Assistant Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine, Albert Einstein College of Medicine

Pamela Arsove, MD, FACEP is a member of the following medical societies: American College of Emergency Physicians, American Medical Association, Phi Beta Kappa, and Society for Academic Emergency Medicine

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Coauthor(s)

Barbara Edwards, MD  Associate Physician, Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Long Island Jewish Medical Center; Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine, Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University

Barbara Edwards, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American College of Physicians, Infectious Diseases Society of America, and Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Specialty Editor Board

Larry I Lutwick, MD  Professor of Medicine, State University of New York, Downstate Medical School; Director, Infectious Diseases, Veterans Affairs New York Harbor Health Care System, Brooklyn Campus

Larry I Lutwick, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American College of Physicians and Infectious Diseases Society of America

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Francisco Talavera, PharmD, PhD  Adjunct Assistant Professor, University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Pharmacy; Senior Pharmacy Editor, eMedicine

Disclosure: eMedicine Salary Employment

Charles V Sanders, MD  Edgar Hull Professor and Chairman, Department of Internal Medicine, Professor of Microbiology, Immunology and Parasitology, Louisiana State University School of Medicine at New Orleans; Medical Director, Medicine Hospital Center, Charity Hospital and Medical Center of Louisiana at New Orleans; Consulting Staff, Ochsner Medical Center

Charles V Sanders, MD is a member of the following medical societies: Alliance for the Prudent Use of Antibiotics, Alpha Omega Alpha, American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Association of University Professors, American Clinical and Climatological Association, American College of Physician Executives, American College of Physicians, American Federation for Medical Research, American Foundation for AIDS Research, American Geriatrics Society, American Lung Association, American Medical Association, American Society for Microbiology, American Thoracic Society, American Venereal Disease Association, Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Association of American Medical Colleges, Association of American Physicians, Association of Professors of Medicine, Infectious Disease Society for Obstetrics and Gynecology, Infectious Diseases Society of America, Louisiana State Medical Society, Orleans Parish Medical Society, Royal Society of Medicine, Sigma Xi, Society of General Internal Medicine, Southeastern Clinical Club, Southern Medical Association, Southern Society for Clinical Investigation, and Southwestern Association of Clinical Microbiology

Disclosure: Baxter International and Johnson & Johnson Royalty Other

Eleftherios Mylonakis, MD  Clinical and Research Fellow, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Massachusetts General Hospital

Eleftherios Mylonakis, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Association for the Advancement of Science, American College of Physicians, American Society for Microbiology, and Infectious Diseases Society of America

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Chief Editor

Burke A Cunha, MD  Professor of Medicine, State University of New York School of Medicine at Stony Brook; Chief, Infectious Disease Division, Winthrop-University Hospital

Burke A Cunha, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American College of Chest Physicians, American College of Physicians, and Infectious Diseases Society of America

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

References

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This photograph shows an early chancroid on the penis, along with accompanying regional lymphadenopathy. Courtesy of the CDC/Dr. Pirozzi.
 
 
 
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