Kanamycin in the Treatment of Gonorrhoea in the Female

When penicillin cannot be used in the treatment of gonorrhoea the lack of another form of therapy which is efficient, rapid and by injection is a serious problem. This paper attempts to assess the claims of kanamycin sulphate to fill this role.

One hundred consecutive female patients suffering from gonorrhoea were treated with a single intramuscular injection of 2 g. kanamycin without any toxic effect. Normal statistical analysis was not possible because of the problem of the defaulting patient, but the results obtained compare favourably with those achieved by the more familiar penicillin regimes. Accordingly, we believe that kanamycin is a useful addition to the drugs already available for the treatment of gonorrhoea, especially as an alternative injection treatment when penicillin is contra-indicated or has already failed, and furthermore, it does not mask incubating syphilis.