Comparison of three different regimens in treament of Brucellosis

Background: Treatment of human brucellosis is a major medical problem in the world. Objective: To compare the efficiency of 3 different regimens in treatment of brucellosis. Methods: In an interventional study, 204 patients with brucellosis in Babol were studied from 1993 to 1995 and one of the following regimens was randomly prescribed for them: I) Doxycycline+Rifampine for 6 weeks, II) Co-trimoxasol+Doxycycline for 6 weeks, III) Streptomycine for 3 weeks+Doxycycline for 6 weeks. All patients were followed for two years and the risk ratio of relapse of regimens II and III compared with I were examined by Cox regression model. Findings: Regimens I, II and III were prescribed for 41 patients with the mean age of 27±12.9, 102 with the mean age of 31.5±15 and 61 with the mean age of 33.4±12.6. The relapse rate was 34%, 12.7% and 9.8% respectively. Regimen I as compared to regimens II and III had an increased relapse rate of 3.2 folds (P=0.004) and 4 folds (P=0.007) respectively. Conclusion: The results indicated regimen III as the treatment choice and regiment III as an alternative in the treatment of brucellosis.