title: Single dose azithromycin for the treatment of uncomplicated otitis media.
abstract: Three clinical trials have examined the efficacy and safety of single dose azithromycin (30 mg/kg) in children with uncomplicated acute otitis media (AOM). In the first trial, a small pilot study, the clinical and microbiologic efficacy of single dose azithromycin was comparable with that of 3-day azithromycin or single dose ceftriaxone. A second, non-comparative trial confirmed the clinical and microbiologic efficacy of the single dose regimen. The third study, a large double blind, double dummy trial, demonstrated comparable clinical success rates between single dose azithromycin and 10-day standard amoxicillin/clavulanate. The incidence of drug-related adverse events in patients treated with single dose azithromycin was low in all three trials and similar to rates that have been reported for other antimicrobial agents used for the treatment of patients with AOM. In the amoxicillin/clavulanate trial, compliance with single dose azithromycin was significantly better than with the amoxicillin/clavulanate regimen (P < 0.001). We conclude that a single dose of azithromycin (30 mg/kg) is safe and effective for the treatment of uncomplicated AOM in children.
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Atención Pediátrica and Universidad de Ciencias Médicas, San José, Costa Rica. aarguedas@iped.net
authors.forename: Adriano
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Arguedas
authors.forename: Cecilia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Loaiza
authors.forename: Carolina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Soley
mesh_terms: D017963:Azithromycin / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D002443:Ceftriaxone / Q000008:administration & dosage; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D017326:Clinical Trials, Phase III as Topic; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010034:Otitis Media with Effusion / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000382:microbiology; D010865:Pilot Projects; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D002443:Ceftriaxone; D017963:Azithromycin