Effect of metronidazole versus standard care on length of stay of patients admitted with severe infectious mononucleosis: a randomized controlled trial

Metronidazole may be of use in the treatment of infectious mononucleosis (IM). Our aim is to show that metronidazole shortens hospital stay for patients with severe IM. A single-centre randomized controlled trial was undertaken in patients admitted with severe IM, who were with a similar group treated by the standard care. Patients were blinded to which treatment arm they were in. Forty-two of these patients were enrolled in the trial. The primary endpoint was the difference in length of stay. This was significantly less in the metronidazole group (3.67 days v 4.67) (p 0.032). This study demonstrates that metronidazole has a role to play in severe infectious mononucleosis.