Orally administered cefpodoxime proxetil for treatment of uncomplicated gonococcal urethritis in males: a dose-response study.

An open-label, dose-response study of cefpodoxime proxetil (CPD), an expanded-spectrum cephalosporin, was conducted with 58 males with uncomplicated Neisseria gonorrhoeae infections with single doses of 600, 400, 200, 100, or 50 mg of CPD administered orally by tablet. CPD eradicated N. gonorrhoeae in all 50 evaluable patients (10 per group) at all doses studied. Eight of the isolates eradicated were beta-lactamase-producing organisms. Two patients reported three side effects, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, which were mild and resolved without intervention or sequelae. There were no clinically remarkable drug-related changes in vital signs or clinical laboratory assays. Results show that single oral doses of CPD are an effective and well-tolerated treatment for uncomplicated N. gonorrhoeae infection in males at doses as low as 50 mg.