
Azithromycin Breakpoint for Neisseria gonorrhoeae
© Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute. All rights reserved. 2
azithromycin. N. gonorrhoeae strains with resistance to a single agent may be effectively eradicated when immediately treated
with two drugs, if the strain is susceptible to the second agent. Globally, only isolated case reports from the United Kingdom and
Australia have identied isolates with dual high-level ceftriaxone and azithromycin minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) (ie,
resistance).5,6
Susceptibility testing of individual strains to direct treatment choice is not routinely performed because most cases are identied
through use of nucleic acid amplication tests (NAATs), not culture. Culture and susceptibility testing are recommended for all
cases of treatment failure, and surveillance cultures with susceptibility testing are critical to informing international treatment
guidelines. The absence of azithromycin breakpoints precludes the possibility of US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)–cleared
devices to test azithromycin in the medical laboratory, and differing cutoffs may be used when surveillance data are evaluated.
Azithromycin is a macrolide. The mechanism of antibacterial action is binding to 23S ribosomal RNA (rRNA), blocking protein
synthesis. Mutations in genes encoding 23S rRNA have been associated with treatment failure during azithromycin monotherapy
for N. gonorrhoeae, particularly when all four alleles of the N. gonorrhoeae 23S rRNA gene are affected. Reports have identied
treatment failures for isolates with MICs of 4 or > 256 µg/mL, associated with the 23S rRNA C2611T and A2059G mutations,
respectively.7,8 Other genetic mutations (eg, meningococcal-like [mosaic] mtrR) can also increase azithromycin MICs, but only to
< 16 µg/mL. The association with treatment failure for these mutations is not established.
For the current azithromycin breakpoint for N. gonorrhoeae, see Table 1.
gonorrhea.4 This regimen is hoped to preserve the effectiveness of ceftriaxone because a strain
is unlikely to be resistant to both ceftriaxone and azithromycin. N. gonorrhoeae strains with
resistance to a single agent may be effectively eradicated when immediately treated with two
drugs, if the strain is susceptible to the second agent. Globally, only isolated case reports from
the United Kingdom and Australia have identified isolates with dual high-level ceftriaxone and
azithromycin minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) (ie, resistance).5,6
Susceptibility testing of individual strains to direct treatment choice is not routinely performed
because most cases are identified through use of nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs), not
culture. Culture and susceptibility testing are recommended for all cases of treatment failure,
and surveillance cultures with susceptibility testing are critical to informing international
treatment guidelines. The absence of azithromycin breakpoints precludes the possibility of US
Food and Drug Administration (FDA)–cleared devices to test azithromycin in the medical
laboratory, and differing cutoffs may be used when surveillance data are evaluated.
Azithromycin is a macrolide. The mechanism of antibacterial action is binding to 23S ribosomal
RNA (rRNA), blocking protein synthesis. Mutations in genes encoding 23S rRNA have been
associated with treatment failure during azithromycin monotherapy for N. gonorrhoeae,
particularly when all four alleles of the N. gonorrhoeae 23S rRNA gene are affected. Reports
have identified treatment failures for isolates with MICs of 4 or > 256 µg/mL, associated with
the 23S rRNA C2611T and A2059G mutations, respectively.7,8 Other genetic mutations (eg,
meningococcal-like [mosaic] mtrR) can also increase azithromycin MICs, but only to < 16 µg/mL.
The association with treatment failure for these mutations is not established.
For the current azithromycin breakpoint for N. gonorrhoeae, see Table 1.
Table 1. Current CLSI Azithromycin Breakpoint*
Organism Group Antimicrobial Agent
Interpretive Categories and MIC
Breakpoints, µg/mL
SSDD I
N. gonorrhoeae Azithromycin ≤ 1
* Last reviewed June 2018; first published in CLSI document M100, 29th ed.2
Abbreviations: I, intermediate; MIC, minimal inhibitory concentration; R, resistant; S, susceptible; SDD, susceptible-
dose dependent.
3 Standard Doses and Pharmacokinetic Data
After oral administration, azithromycin rapidly leaves the circulation to enter tissues, achieving
high and prolonged drug concentrations in peripheral sites including genital sites.
A single 500-mg oral dose of azithromycin in healthy adult volunteers is associated with the
pharmacokinetic parameters shown in Table 2.
Table 2. Pharmacokinetic Parameters for 500 mg Azithromycin9
Pharmacokinetic Parameters (Mean)
Total N = 12
Day 1 Day 5
Cmax (µg/mL) 0.41 0.24
Tmax (h) 2.5 3.2
AUC0-24 (µg • h/mL) 2.6 2.1
Cmin (µg/mL) 0.05 0.05
Urinary excretion (% dose) 4.5 6.5
Abbreviations: AUC0-24, area under the concentration time curve from 0 to 24 hours; Cmax, maximum concentration
of drug in serum; Cmin, minimum concentration of drug in serum; h, hours; Tmax, time to maximum serum
concentration.
Median azithromycin exposure (AUC0-288) in polymorphonuclear leukocytes is 800-fold greater
than in serum following a three-day regimen.9
At 19 hours, azithromycin concentration in the cervix is 2.8 µg/g, 70-fold higher than in plasma.
At 10 to 12 and nine to 18 hours, sputum and tonsil azithromycin concentrations are 2.9 µg/mL
and 4.5 µg/g, 30- and > 100-fold greater than in serum or plasma.9
For a single 1-g oral dose of azithromycin in healthy men (N = 10), the median plasma
concentration at two hours was 1.1 µg/mL (0.1 to 1.4 µg/mL), and rectal tissue concentration
peaked between two hours and four days (median 24 hours) with a median Cmax of 132.6 µg/g
(12.7 to 2695.8 µg/g).10,11 For rectal tissue concentration, the estimated AUC0-96 and
AUC0-∞ were 3644 and 13 103 (µg/g) • hr, respectively. Azithromycin elimination was biphasic
with a median initial half-life of 24.2 hours (time zero to 96 hours) and the total median
elimination half-life (time zero to day 14) of 86.6 hours. The elimination rate constant was
0.008/hour.
4 Minimal Inhibitory Concentration Distribution Data
US national surveillance data from the CDC Gonococcal Isolate Surveillance Project (GISP) were
reviewed for 2014, 2015, and 2016. Figure 1 shows the azithromycin MIC distribution of 15 496
isolates from 2014 to 2016. The mode and MIC50 were 0.25 µg/mL. Notably, in this systematic
sentinel site surveillance method, there were few isolates (2.9%) with azithromycin MICs > 1
µg/mL. The epidemiological cutoff value (ECV) was calculated as 1 µg/mL.
3 Standard Dosages and Pharmacokinetic Data
After oral administration, azithromycin rapidly leaves the circulation to enter tissues, achieving high and prolonged drug
concentrations in peripheral sites including genital sites.
A single 500-mg oral dose of azithromycin in healthy adult volunteers is associated with the pharmacokinetic parameters shown
in Table 2.