title: Cefuroxime axetil and penicillin V compared in the treatment of group A beta-hemolytic streptococcal pharyngitis.
abstract: Patients with the signs and symptoms of acute tonsillopharyngitis were treated with cefuroxime axetil, an orally administered, beta-lactamase stable cephalosporin, or penicillin V for ten days. Group A beta-hemolytic streptococcal (GABHS) infection was confirmed bacteriologically in 115 patients. Patients aged 13 to 18 years received 250 mg of cefuroxime or 500 mg of penicillin V twice daily. Bacteriologic cure was found in 33 (94%) of 35 patients treated with the cefuroxime and in 12 (67%) of 18 treated with penicillin (P less than 0.05). Patients aged 4 to 12 years who received 125 mg of cefuroxime axetil twice daily also experienced a greater rate of bacteriologic cure than patients who received 250 mg of penicillin V three times daily, but the difference was not statistically significant. Cefuroxime axetil is at least as effective as penicillin V in the management of streptococcal pharyngitis and may be more effective in preventing the carrier state.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002353:Carrier State / Q000517:prevention & control; D002444:Cefuroxime / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002511:Cephalosporins; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004341:Drug Evaluation; D005260:Female; D006461:Hemolysis; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010404:Penicillin V / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D010612:Pharyngitis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000382:microbiology; D013290:Streptococcal Infections / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000382:microbiology; D013297:Streptococcus pyogenes / Q000302:isolation & purification; D014069:Tonsillitis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000382:microbiology
chemical_list: D002511:Cephalosporins; D002444:Cefuroxime; C040738:cefuroxime axetil; D010404:Penicillin V