title: Therapeutic possibilities of long-term roxithromycin treatment for chronic diffuse sclerosing osteomyelitis of the mandible.
abstract: The clinical efficacy of long-term roxithromycin treatment was examined objectively in nine patients with chronic diffuse sclerosing osteomyelitis of the mandible. Roxithromycin was administered orally at a dose of 300 mg/day for between 68 days and 66 months. In seven of the nine cases (77.8%), the symptoms disappeared 1-12 months after the start of therapy. Radiography showed that osteolytic changes (evident from 'moth-eaten' appearance of bone) had improved but that osteosclerosis had persisted or become more predominant by the end of therapy. Therefore, the optimum duration of treatment should be decided according to the amelioration of symptoms along with the disappearance of osteolytic findings in radiographs. Diarrhoea and stomach discomfort occurred in one case, and liver dysfunction in another, but these adverse reactions were relatively mild. The mechanism of action of roxithromycin in this study is not yet fully understood, but our results indicate that long-term roxithromycin treatment may be useful for diffuse sclerosing osteomyelitis of the mandible and should be attempted before surgical treatment is considered.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dentistry, Hyogo Prefectural Staff Health Center 5-10-1, Shimoyamate-dori, Chuo-ku, Kobe, Hyogo 650-8567, Japan. takashi3@basil.ocn.ne.jp
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yoshii
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nishimura
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yoshikawa
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Furudoi
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Yoshioka
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Takenono
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ohtsuka
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Komori
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008134:Long-Term Care; D008297:Male; D008336:Mandibular Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008875:Middle Aged; D010019:Osteomyelitis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology; D015575:Roxithromycin / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D012598:Sclerosis / Q000209:etiology; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D015575:Roxithromycin