Comparison of five-day cefdinir treatment with ten-day low dose amoxicillin/clavulanate treatment for acute otitis media.
BACKGROUND
Short course beta-lactam antibiotic therapy for acute otitis media (AOM) should improve patient adherence, but it has not been evaluated since the heptavalent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine became routinely used in the United States.


METHODS
In a prospective, investigator-blinded, multicenter study, 425 patients, age 6 months-6 years, with a clinical diagnosis of nonrefractory AOM were randomized to receive either 5 days of cefdinir therapy (14 mg/kg divided twice daily) or 10 days of amoxicillin/clavulanate therapy (45/6.4 mg/kg divided twice daily). Clinical response was assessed at end of therapy (2-4 days postantibiotic, respectively) and week 4 (study days 25-28).


RESULTS
With no difference in demographics between treatment groups, overall the mean age (+/-SD) was 2.8 +/- 1.8 years, 65% had received conjugated pneumococcal vaccination and 48% had bilateral AOM. The satisfactory clinical response rate at end of therapy was comparable for cefdinir versus amoxicillin/clavulanate (88%, 170 of 194 versus 85%, 164 of 192; 95% CI -4.9, 9.3). Although this must be interpreted with caution, cefdinir showed an apparent trend for higher efficacy than amoxicillin/clavulanate (92%, 72 of 78 versus 77%, 55 of 71; P = 0.019) in a subsample of patients 6-24 months old who had received conjugated pneumococcal vaccination. The incidence of drug-related adverse events was less for cefdinir than for amoxicillin/clavulanate (24%, 50 of 211 versus 38%, 82 of 214; P = 0.0018)


CONCLUSIONS
For children with nonrefractory AOM, based only on clinical endpoints, 5 days of therapy with cefdinir 14 mg/kg divided twice daily was comparable overall with 10 days of therapy with low dose amoxicillin/clavulanate 45/6.4 mg/kg divided twice daily.
Block
Stan L
SL
Kentucky Pediatric/Adult Research, Bardstown, KY, USA. sblock@pol.net
Busman
Todd A
TA
Paris
Maria M
MM
Bukofzer
Stanley
S
D000208:Acute Disease; D019980:Amoxicillin-Potassium Clavulanate Combination / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D000077525:Cefdinir; D002511:Cephalosporins / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D010033:Otitis Media / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000382:microbiology; D011336:Probability; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012016:Reference Values; D018570:Risk Assessment; D016037:Single-Blind Method; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D002511:Cephalosporins; D019980:Amoxicillin-Potassium Clavulanate Combination; D000077525:Cefdinir