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

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 WHO's standard regimen of rifampin-doxycycline (RD) versus ciprofloxacin-doxycycline (CD) for the treatment of brucellosis. This randomized controlled trial was performed on 90 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 100 mg of Doxycycline twice a day and 300 mg of rifampin Bid daily for eight weeks; and the CD group, received 100 mg of doxycycline plus 500 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. In this study, the rate of symptom relief and laboratory findings in both groups were similar. The relief of symptoms was seen in 93.2% and 83.9% of the patients for the DR and CD groups, respectively (P=0.182). 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. 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