title: Telithromycin in the treatment of community-acquired pneumonia: a pooled analysis.
abstract: The efficacy of telithromycin has been assessed in six Phase III studies involving adults with mild to moderate community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) with a degree of severity compatible with oral therapy. Patients received telithromycin 800 mg once daily for 7-10 days in three open-label studies (n=870) and three randomized, double-blind, comparator-controlled studies (n=503). Comparator antibacterials were amoxicillin 1000 mg three-times daily, clarithromycin 500 mg twice daily and trovafloxacin 200 mg once daily. Clinical and bacteriological outcomes were assessed 7-14 days post-therapy. Among telithromycin-treated patients, per-protocol clinical cure rates were 93.1 and 91.0% for the open-label and comparative studies, respectively. Telithromycin treatment was as effective as the comparator agents. High eradication and clinical cure rates were observed for infections caused by key pathogens: Streptococcus pneumoniae including isolates resistant to penicillin G and/or erythromycin A (95.4%), Haemophilus influenzae (89.5%) and Moraxella catarrhalis (90%). Telithromycin was also highly effective in patients with infections caused by atypical and/or intracellular pathogens and those at increased risk of morbidity. Telithromycin was generally well tolerated. Telithromycin 800 mg once daily for 7-10 days offers a convenient and well-tolerated first-line oral therapy for the empirical treatment of mild to moderate CAP.
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, 41685 Göteborg, Sweden. lars.hagberg@medfak.gu.se
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Hagberg
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Carbon
authors.forename: D J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: van Rensburg
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fogarty
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Dunbar
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pullman
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000658:Amoxicillin / Q000008:administration & dosage; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D000890:Anti-Infective Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage; D017291:Clarithromycin / Q000008:administration & dosage; D017326:Clinical Trials, Phase III as Topic; D017714:Community-Acquired Infections / Q000188:drug therapy; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D024841:Fluoroquinolones; D006801:Humans; D048628:Ketolides; D018942:Macrolides; D009287:Naphthyridines / Q000008:administration & dosage; D010406:Penicillins / Q000008:administration & dosage; D018410:Pneumonia, Bacterial / Q000188:drug therapy*; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D000890:Anti-Infective Agents; D024841:Fluoroquinolones; D048628:Ketolides; D018942:Macrolides; D009287:Naphthyridines; D010406:Penicillins; D000658:Amoxicillin; C080163:trovafloxacin; D017291:Clarithromycin; C106791:telithromycin