Preliminary Comparative Study of Tetracycline Phosphate Complex and Oxytetracycline in the Treatment of Nongonococcal Urethritis

Abstract

The preparation of the phosphate complex salt of tetracycline ('Tetrex') was described in detail by Kaplan and Buckwalter (1958). It consists of 3 parts of sodium hexametaphosphate and 1 part of tetracycline hydrochloride. During preparation, a pH of 1.5 -1.8 is maintained by the appropriate addition of concentrated hydrochloric acid. Absorption, diffusion and excretion studies by Shidlovsky et al. (19580) indicated that this compound produced higher and more sustained blood and urine levels than equivalent doses of tetracycline hydrochloride.Using tetracycline phosphate complex, good results in the treatment of acne vulgaris were reported by Ashurst (1968). Beveridge and Powell (1969) pointed out the difficulty of assessing results in a condition such as acne vulgaris, which often shows response due to placebo effect, but have been able to show that tetracycline phosphate complex therapy brought about qualitative changes in sebum secretion that could he measured and seemed to correlate well with clinical improvement.Wijetunga and Morton (1969) treated 47 patients with nongonococcal urethritis using the drug in a dosage of 50()mg. 12-hourly for 4 days and achieved a satisfactory response in 42 (87%) of these. We decided to compare the complex with oxytetracycline in alternate patients with this condition. Our objective was to determine whether the results obtained would justify the institution of a more extensive "double-blind" trial. The diagnostic criteria and scope of this preliminary trial arc now given in detail.