title: Meta-analysis in the evaluation of treatment for streptococcal pharyngitis: a review.
abstract: Penicillin has been first-line therapy for the treatment of streptococcal pharyngitis for more than 40 years. Since the 1980s, there have been a number of reports suggesting that bacteriologic failure rates with penicillin may be rising. A number of alternative therapies have been proposed, including oral cephalosporins. To evaluate the efficacy of these agents, two meta-analyses have recently been performed. In the meta-analysis performed by Pichichero and Margolis, oral cephalosporins were reported to achieve a significantly greater bacteriologic cure rate than penicillin (92% with cephalosporins vs 84% with penicillin, P < 0.0001) when results from 19 studies were analyzed. A separate meta-analysis performed by Deeter et al reported that the oral cephalosporin cefadroxil monohydrate achieved significantly greater bacteriologic cure rates (94.8% cefadroxil vs 87.5% penicillin, P < 0.05) than oral penicillin when 9 trials in 1406 patients with streptococcal pharyngitis were analyzed. A review of 65 studies of the use of penicillin for the treatment of streptococcal pharyngitis has shown that bacteriologic failure rates in the period 1980 to 1993 were approximately 12% to 13%, slightly but not significantly greater than during the period 1953 through 1979. Oral cephalosporins such as cefadroxil monohydrate provide reasonable alternatives for the treatment of streptococcal pharyngitis.
authors.affiliation: Division of Pediatric Pharmacology and Critical Care, Rainbow Babies and Childrens Hospital, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio.
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Blumer
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Goldfarb
mesh_terms: D000284:Administration, Oral; D002511:Cephalosporins / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D015201:Meta-Analysis as Topic; D010406:Penicillins / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D010612:Pharyngitis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000382:microbiology; D013290:Streptococcal Infections / Q000188:drug therapy*
chemical_list: D002511:Cephalosporins; D010406:Penicillins