Telithromycin for the treatment of acute bacterial maxillary sinusitis: a review of a new antibacterial agent.
OBJECTIVE
Telithromycin, the first approved ketolide antibiotic, was developed to treat community-acquired respiratory tract infections, including acute bacterial maxillary sinusitis (ABMS). A previously published study showed that a 5-day course of 800 mg telithromycin once daily is as effective as a 10-day course in the treatment of ABMS.


METHODS
Data were pooled from two controlled, multinational, prospective, randomized, double-blinded ABMS trials comparing 5-day telithromycin (800 mg once daily) with 10-day amoxicillin-clavulanate (500/125 mg 3 times daily) and cefuroxime axetil (250 mg twice daily). Clinical cure and bacteriologic eradication rates were compared by means of descriptive statistics.


RESULTS
The clinical cure rate for telithromycin was 80.9% versus 77.4% for comparators; bacteriologic eradication rate for telithromycin was 84.9% versus 81.7% for comparators. Most adverse events were mild to moderate in intensity and, most commonly, gastrointestinal in nature.


CONCLUSIONS
These results support the conclusion that 5 days of treatment with telithromycin is as safe and effective in patients with ABMS as a 10-day course of treatment with amoxicillin-clavulanate or cefuroxime axetil.
Tellier
Guy
G
Zoom International Clinical Research Group, St. Jerome, Quebec, Canada. gtellier@zoominternational.ca
Brunton
Stephen A
SA
Nusrat
Roomi
R
D000208:Acute Disease; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D019980:Amoxicillin-Potassium Clavulanate Combination / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002444:Cefuroxime / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D005260:Female; D006193:Haemophilus influenzae / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006801:Humans; D048628:Ketolides / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008297:Male; D015523:Maxillary Sinusitis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000382:microbiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D001936:Moraxella catarrhalis / Q000302:isolation & purification; D011446:Prospective Studies; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000302:isolation & purification; D013296:Streptococcus pneumoniae / Q000302:isolation & purification
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D048628:Ketolides; D019980:Amoxicillin-Potassium Clavulanate Combination; C106791:telithromycin; D002444:Cefuroxime; C040738:cefuroxime axetil