title: Rifampin prophylaxis v placebo for household contacts of children with Hemophilus influenzae type b disease.
abstract: The efficacy of rifampin prophylaxis (20 mg/kg/day in two doses for four days) in eliminating pharyngeal Hemophilus influenzae type b from household contacts of 38 patients with invasive Hemophilus disease was evaluated in a prospective, placebo-controlled fashion. At the end of treatment, rifampin efficacy was 91% in subjects younger than 5 years of age and 100% in those subjects older than 5 years. The H influenzae type b carrier rate of rifampin-treated subjects was significantly smaller than that of placebo-treated subjects one month after prophylaxis. However, 22% to 25% of rifampin-treated carriers younger than 5 years of age were colonized with H influenzae type b, based on cultures obtained one to four weeks after prophylaxis, while approximately 75% of placebo-treated carriers were still positive at this time.
mesh_terms: D002353:Carrier State; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D006193:Haemophilus influenzae / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008583:Meningitis, Haemophilus / Q000235:genetics / Q000382:microbiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D009305:Nasopharynx / Q000382:microbiology; D010349:Patient Compliance; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012293:Rifampin / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D012293:Rifampin