Doxycycline revisited.

Although several new antibiotics have recently become available, in several clinical instances conventional antibiotics may be equally efficacious at a considerably lower cost. In today's era of cost containment, it is particularly relevant to revisit older, inexpensive antibiotics to reexplore their role in the face of the emergence of resistant microorganisms and competition from newer agents. Doxycycline is one such antibiotic. It is an inexpensive, broad-spectrum antimicrobial agent that remains the drug of first choice for several infections. In addition, it can be used for a variety of other indications. Adverse effects are infrequent and relatively minor. While interactions occur with several medications, none of these interactions has significant adverse consequences.