Efficacy of Combination Therapies for Gonorrhea Treatment

July 23, 2015 updated by: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)

Randomized Clinical Trial Evaluating the Efficacy of Gentamicin/Azithromycin and Gemifloxacin/Azithromycin Combination Therapies as an Alternative Regimen for Uncomplicated Urogenital Gonorrhea

The purpose of this study is to learn how to better treat gonorrhea infections. Gonorrhea is a sexually transmitted disease (STD) that is usually cured with a single antibiotic. However, some gonorrhea is not cured with a single antibiotic. The study will look at how well treating gonorrhea with 2 antibiotics works. Participants will be assigned to 1 of 2 treatment groups each receiving a combination of 2 antibiotics. Sites in the United States will recruit 500 male and female participants. Participants must be 15 to 60 years old, in good health and identified in participating sexually transmitted disease clinics as having uncomplicated cervical or urethral gonorrhea. Procedures include collection of current symptoms, medical and sexual history, sexual orientation, vital signs, height, weight, cervical/urethral cultures and clinical examinations. Volunteers will be involved for about 17 days.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

Infection with Neisseria (N.) gonorrhoeae carries a significant public health burden in the United States (U.S.). Gonococcal infection can result in pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), ectopic pregnancy, infertility, chronic pelvic pain, and increases the risk of transmission and acquisition of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). With over 350,000 cases of gonorrhea reported each year, gonorrhea is the second most common notifiable condition. Furthermore, it is estimated that case reports account for only half of the incident cases of gonorrhea in the U.S. each year. Given that gonorrhea is a bacterial infection which causes symptoms in approximately 90 percent of infected men and 50 percent of infected women, the most critical aspect of reducing the public health burden of gonorrhea for affected populations is provision of effective antimicrobial therapy. In order to identify treatment options for patients with suspect or confirmed cephalosporin-resistant N. gonorrhoeae infection and patients with severe cephalosporin hypersensitivity, this study plans to determine the efficacy of each of 2 combination antimicrobial regimens for the treatment of uncomplicated gonococcal infection. This study is a multicenter clinical trial of adult males and females diagnosed with urethral or cervical gonococcal infection. Subjects will be enrolled and randomized for treatment with either Regimen A: gentamicin 240 mg intramuscular (IM) one time for patients >45 kg or 5 mg/kg IM one time for patients less than or equal to 45 kg plus azithromycin 2 gm by mouth (PO) one time, or Regimen B: gemifloxacin 320 mg PO one time plus azithromycin 2 gm PO one time. Investigators hypothesize that Regimen A will have a clinical efficacy estimate that is greater than or equal to 95 percent as well as a lower, one-sided 95 percent confidence interval (CI 95 percent) bound that is greater than or equal to 90 percent. The identical hypothesis applies for Regimen B. It should be noted that this is not a comparative trial between Regimen A and B, but rather a trial to establish efficacy data for each of these two candidate regimens. The primary objective of this study is to determine the microbiological efficacy of each of two combination antimicrobial regimens for the treatment of uncomplicated gonococcal infection (i.e., non-systemic). Secondary objectives of this study are to: assess the safety and tolerability of each candidate regimen; assess the eradication of any rectal or pharyngeal gonococcal infection by each regimen; determine the antimicrobial susceptibility profile of all gonococcal strains isolated at the time of enrollment; determine the clinical and antimicrobial susceptibility profile of all gonococcal strains isolated from patients who fail treatment; and assess the efficacy of the candidate regimens on the resolution of symptoms and signs (clinical cure). The primary efficacy analysis will be based on microbiological cure rate at end of trial based on the modified intent-to-treat (MITT) and per protocol (PP) subsets. The number, percent, and a 95 percent one-sided (lower) confidence interval of microbiological cure rate successes and failures will be computed. Additional analyses will be conducted on the following subsets: male, female, men who have sex with men (MSM) status, and subjects denying anal, oral, or vaginal intercourse during the follow-up period. Secondary endpoints will include: separate analyses of: safety and tolerability of each regimen; eradication of rectal or pharyngeal infection; antimicrobial susceptibility profile of enrollment isolates; clinical and antimicrobial susceptibility profile of treatment failures; and resolution of

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
614

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Phase 4

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Alabama
      • Birmingham, Alabama, United States, 35249-0001
        • University of Alabama Hospital - Infectious Diseases
    • California
      • Los Angeles, California, United States, 90007-2608
        • Los Angeles County Department of Public Health - Sexually Transmitted Disease Program
      • San Francisco, California, United States, 94103-4030
        • San Francisco Department of Public Health - San Francisco City Clinic
    • Maryland
      • Baltimore, Maryland, United States, 21224-2735
        • Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center - Infectious Diseases
    • Pennsylvania
      • Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, 15213-3108
        • Magee Women's Hospital of UPMC - Reproductive Infectious Disease Research

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

15 years to 60 years (Child, Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Male or female from 15 - 60 years old.

  • Is either:

    1. Untreated male or female with urethral or cervical gonorrhea as determined by a screening laboratory test [either Nucleic Acid Amplification Test (NAAT) or culture] for Neisseria gonorrhoeae at a prior visit.
    2. Urethral or cervical gram stain demonstrating gram negative intracellular diplococci and leukocytes.
    3. Untreated male or female who is a sexual contact (anal, oral, or vaginal) of an individual with gonorrhea in the past 60 days.
  • Willing to abstain from anal, oral, or vaginal sexual intercourse or use condoms until follow up is completed.
  • Willing to follow up from 10 to 17 days following enrollment.
  • Willing to provide written consent.
  • Able to swallow pills.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Known renal insufficiency from clinical history
  • Known hepatic insufficiency from clinical history
  • Known QT interval prolongation from clinical history
  • Known neuromuscular disorder from clinical history (i.e., myasthenia gravis or Parkinson's disease)
  • Known rheumatoid arthritis or tendon disorders from clinical history
  • Known kidney, heart, or lung transplants from clinical history
  • Pregnant women (determined by positive urine pregnancy test)
  • Breastfeeding women
  • Known allergy or adverse reaction to macrolides, aminoglycosides, or quinolones
  • Concomitant infection (besides chlamydia or bacterial vaginosis) which requires systemic antibiotics
  • Has received systemic or intravaginal antibiotics within 30 days of study enrollment
  • Currently taking corticosteroid drugs or other immunosuppressive therapy
  • Currently taking cardiac antiarrhythmia drugs
  • Self report of or clinical diagnosis of abdominal pain, pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), testicular pain, epididymitis, or disseminated gonococcal infection
  • Self report of or clinical diagnosis of current genital ulcer (GU)
  • In the judgment of the interviewer, has a medical condition or other factor that might affect their ability to follow the protocol
  • Previous enrollment in this study

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Regimen B: gemifloxacin plus azithromycin
Gemifloxacin 320 mg by mouth one time plus azithromycin 2 gm by mouth one time.
Drug: Azithromycin
Four 500 mg tablets will be administered orally to equal a 2 gm dose.
Drug: Gemifloxacin
One 320 mg tablet administered orally.
Experimental: Regimen A: gentamicin plus azithromycin
Gentamicin 240 mg intramuscular (IM) one time for patients greater than 45 kg or 5 mg/kg IM one time for patients less than or equal to 45 kg plus azithromycin 2 gm by mouth one time.
Drug: Azithromycin
Four 500 mg tablets will be administered orally to equal a 2 gm dose.
Drug: Gentamicin
Fixed dose of 240 mg intramuscular one time for patients >45 kg and a 5 mg/kg dose for patients less than or equal to 45 kg based on their measured weight in clinic. Most patients will require 2 injections of gentamicin in separate large muscle groups.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Microbiological Efficacy of Gentamicin and Azithromycin for the Treatment of Uncomplicated Gonococcal Infection
Time Frame: 10-17 days after treatment.
Percentage of enrollees negative by culture at cervix/urethra 10-17 days after treatment, regardless of history of re-exposure, among those with positive gonococcal cultures at enrollment (microbiological cure)
10-17 days after treatment.
Microbiological Efficacy of Gemifloxacin and Azithromycin for the Treatment of Uncomplicated Gonococcal Infection
Time Frame: 10-17 days after treatment.
Percentage of enrollees negative by culture at cervix/urethra 10-17 days after treatment, regardless of history of re-exposure, among those with positive gonococcal cultures at enrollment (microbiological cure)
10-17 days after treatment.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Eradication of Rectal Infection
Time Frame: 10-17 days after treatment.
Number of enrollees with positive rectal culture at enrollment who have negative culture 10-17 days after treatment
10-17 days after treatment.
Eradication of Pharyngeal Infection
Time Frame: 10-17 days after treatment.
Number of enrollees with positive pharyngeal culture at enrollment who have negative culture 10-17 days after treatment
10-17 days after treatment.
Antimicrobial Susceptibility Profile of Treatment Failures.
Time Frame: Isolates obtained at enrollment (Day 0).
For treatment failures (i.e., participants with positive culture at cervix/urethra 10-17 days after treatment), the minimum inhibitory concentrations for various antimicrobial agents (Azithromycin, Cefixime, Ceftriaxone, Ciprofloxacin, Gemifloxacin, Gentamicin, Penicillin, Tetracycline).
Isolates obtained at enrollment (Day 0).
Clinical Profile of Treatment Failures.
Time Frame: 10-17 days
For treatment failures (i.e., participants with positive culture at cervix/urethra 10-17 days after treatment), number participants with clinical symptoms (vaginal/urethral discharge, dysuria, dyspareunia) at 10-17 days.
10-17 days
Resolution of Symptoms and Signs (Clinical Cure)
Time Frame: 10-17 days after treatment.
Number of participants whose gonorrhea-related symptoms (e.g. vaginal/urethral discharge, dysuria, dyspareunia) present at enrollment has resolved by visit 2.
10-17 days after treatment.
Antimicrobial Susceptibility Profile of Enrollment Isolates.
Time Frame: Isolates obtained at enrollment (Day 0).
Minimum inhibitory concentration (micrograms/milliliter) of pretreatment gonorrhea isolates collected from participants
Isolates obtained at enrollment (Day 0).
Number of Participants With Adverse Events for Each Regimen
Time Frame: Day 0 through Day 30
Number of treated participants experiencing mild, moderate, severe, or life-threatening adverse events (AEs) either temporarily associated or not associated with study product.
Day 0 through Day 30

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
June 1, 2010

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
December 1, 2012

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
May 1, 2013

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
June 23, 2009

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
June 23, 2009

First Posted (Estimate)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
June 24, 2009

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
August 19, 2015

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
July 23, 2015

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
June 1, 2013

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 08-0042

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

Cookie Settings

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. For more details carefully read our Privacy and Cookies Policy. ...>>>You can change your preferences or withdraw your consent at any time by deleting the cookies from your website or computer as described in the policy. Please accept it and choose your preferences by ticking the corresponding boxes in the "Manage Settings" section below. Please carefully read our Terms of Service before you proceed with using any part of this website.
«Manage Settings