Tetracyclines are a class of broad-spectrum antibiotics used in the management and treatment of a variety of infectious diseases. Naturally occurring drugs in this class are tetracycline, chlortetracycline, oxytetracycline, and demeclocycline. Semi-synthetic tetracyclines are lymecycline, methacycline, minocycline, rolitetracycline, and doxycycline. There is one glycylcycline subclass agent named tigecycline. Lastly, there is a class of newer tetracyclines that includes eravacycline, sarecycline, and omadacycline.

These drugs can treat rickettsial infections, ehrlichiosis, anaplasmosis, leptospirosis, amebiasis, actinomycosis, nocardiosis, brucellosis, melioidosis, tularemia, chlamydial infections, pelvic inflammatory disease, syphilis, traveler’s diarrhea, early Lyme disease, acne, legionnaire’s disease, and Whipple disease. They cover Borrelia recurrentis, Mycobacterium marinum, Mycoplasma pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus (including methicillin-resistant S. aureus [MRSA]), Vibrio vulnificus, and vancomycin-resistant enterococcus (VRE) (susceptible strains). Meningococcal prophylaxis is also achievable.

Other indications of tetracyclines include rosacea, bullous dermatoses, sarcoidosis, Kaposi sarcoma, pyoderma gangrenosum, hidradenitis suppurativa, Sweet syndrome, a1-antitrypsin deficiency, panniculitis, pityriasis lichenoides chronica, rheumatoid arthritis, scleroderma, cancer, and cardiovascular diseases (abdominal aortic aneurysm and acute myocardial infarction