Should antibiotics be given for Buruli ulcer?

摘要

In The Lancet today, Willemien Nienhuis and colleagues1 describe a randomised trial of two antibiotic combinations for the treatment of Buruli ulcer in Ghana. The main finding, that the two quite similar regimens are equivalent, might seem unremarkable. However, this is an important study that will change clinical practice.Buruli ulcer is a slowly progressive but very destructive infection of skin and softtissue that can cause permanent disability. The causative organism, Mycobacterium ulcerans, is transmitted from an environmental reservoir. The one established risk factor for contracting the disease is to live in a Buruli-endemicarea.