Short-course therapy with cefaclor for treatment of streptococcal pharyngotonsillitis.
Short-course treatments for streptococcal pharyngotonsillitis with oral cephalosporins or macrolides have resulted in a similar bacteriological and clinical cure rate and better compliance compared with the conventional 10-day course. One hundred and thirty eight of 420 recruited patients had a positive culture for Streptococcus pyogenes and were randomly assigned to receive cefaclor (25 mg/kg/bid) for a 5-day (70 patients) or 10-day (68 patients) course. Patients were assessed clinically and bacteriologically 2-3 days after completing the course and followed up after 20-30 days. All 420 recruited patients belonged to a population of 2800 children who had been previously screened for a streptococcal carrier state to exclude carriers from final evaluation. Clinical cure and bacterial eradication was recorded in 92.8 and 92.6% of patients in groups A and B, respectively. Therefore, short-course therapy with cefaclor may offer an effective alternative treatment to conventional regimens, with potential for better compliance.
Esposito
S
S
Clinic of Infectious Disease, Seconda Università degli Studi di Napoli, Ospedale Gesù e Maria, Via D. Cotugno, 1, 80135 Naples, Italy. silvanoesposito@liberi.it
Noviello
S
S
Ianniello
F
F
D'Errico
G
G
D002433:Cefaclor / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002511:Cephalosporins / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D006801:Humans; D010404:Penicillin V / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D010612:Pharyngitis / Q000188:drug therapy*; D013290:Streptococcal Infections / Q000188:drug therapy*; D013297:Streptococcus pyogenes; D014069:Tonsillitis / Q000188:drug therapy*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D002511:Cephalosporins; D002433:Cefaclor; D010404:Penicillin V