Effect of 8-week and 12-week triple therapy (doxycycline, rifampicin, and gentamicin) on brucellosis: A comparative study

Objective:To compare the effect of 8-week and 12-week of triple therapy (doxycycline, rifampicin, and gentamicin) on brucellosis. Methods: This parallel clinical trial was conducted on 339 brucellosis patients who were divided into 2 groups. The first group (175 patients) received doxycycline (100 mg/12 h) for 8 weeks, rifampicin (600 mg/d) for 8 weeks, and gentamicin (5 mg/kg/d) for 7 d, while in the second group (164 patients), doxycycline and rifampicin treatment were prolonged to 12 weeks, along with gentamicin therapy for 7 d. The patients were followed-up for six months after the treatment. Baseline information, clinical manifestations of the patients were collected, and serological tests for brucellosis were performed after the treatment. Results: The mean age of the patients was (45.95 ± 18.65) years, and 56.9% of the patients were male. In total, 73.5% of the patients were residents in rural areas and the majority of them were farmers and ranchers (34.6%). The 3-month relapse rates of the two groups were 11.42% and 6.70%, respectively (P=0.132). Moreover, the 6-month relapse rate of the two groups was 6.3% and 2.4%, respectively (P=0.085). In the two groups, both treatments could reduce serological titers based on Wright and 2ME tests (P<0.05). Conclusions: The efficacy of 8-weeks and 12-weeks triple therapy (doxycycline, rifampicin, and gentamicin) is similar in terms of brucellosis relapse. The 8-week triple therapy including doxycycline, rifampicin, and gentamicin can be considered as an effective approach for the treatment of brucellosis.