Test-of-cure stool cultures for traveler's diarrhea.

Abstract Whether enteropathogens were eradicated or persisted in test-of-cure stool cultures from 251 patients with traveler's diarrhea, the durations of diarrhea were similar within the antimicrobial agent-treated (32 versus 33 h) and placebo-treated (82 versus 96 h) groups. Routine test-of-cure stool cultures can be useful for evaluating treatment failures and for assessing asymptomatic carriage of enteropathogens after treatment, but they are not mandated in the design of placebo-controlled antimicrobial treatment trials in traveler's diarrhea when the focus of the trial is clinical efficacy.