No abstract

A large-scale study with a 1-year follow-up was performed to compare 10 days of penicillin V with a short-course treatment (5 days) of other oral antibiotics in the treatment of group A beta-hemolytic streptococcus (GABHS) tonsillopharyngitis, to evaluate the efficacy and the incidence of poststreptococcal sequelae. The clinical response rates after completion of therapy were 94.5% in the 5-day group and 93.4% in the penicillin group (P<.001, equivalence test). The GABHS eradication rates were 83.3% in the 5-day group and 84.4% in the penicillin group (P=.022, equivalence test). Poststreptococcal sequelae were rare (5 patients) and did not occur in the context of this study. The efficacy of 5-day antibiotic regimens was equivalent to 10 days of penicillin V, but resolution of clinical symptoms was faster in the 5-day group (P<.001, Fisher's exact test). Recurrent tonsillopharyngitis occurs more frequently after treatment with penicillin (P=.03, Fisher's exact test).

Oral penicillin V given three times daily in doses of 50,000-100,000 IU daily has been the standard treatment for tonsillopharyngitis for the last few decades. These regimens, initially recommended by the American Heart Association, were extrapolated from i.v. dosing with long-acting forms of penicillin which had been shown to prevent post-streptococcal sequelae. More recently, several antibiotics, including cefuroxime axetil, have been shown to be at least as effective as penicillin G in eradicating group A beta-haemolytic streptococci (GABHS) but their influence on post-streptococcal sequelae has never been assessed in a large-scale trial. The German Society for Pediatric Infectious Diseases (DGPI) undertook a large study of culture-proven tonsillopharyngitis involving several agents and included a 1 year follow-up to establish the effect on sequelae. In one arm of this study, cefuroxime 250 mg bid was compared with 50,000 IU penicillin V given in three divided doses. Cefuroxime axetil was more effective than oral penicillin V in eradicating GABHS at the assessment 2-4 days post-treatment (441/490 (90%) patients versus 1196/1422 (84%) patients; P = 0.001). Clinically, the two agents were equivalent in efficacy, and carriage rates were similar (11.1% and 13.8%, respectively) in patients receiving cefuroxime axetil and penicillin V, 7-8 weeks post-treatment. One case of glomerular nephritis occurred in a patient given penicillin V. There were no post-streptococcal sequelae confirmed for patients treated with cefuroxime axetil. The findings confirm the previously reported efficacy of short-course (4-5 day) treatments with cefuroxime axetil and indicate that short-course treatment is comparable to the standard oral penicillin V regimen in preventing post-streptococcal sequelae.

In a randomized, prospective, multicenter trial, 227 children ranging in age from 3 to 17 years who had tonsillopharyngitis and a throat culture positive for group A beta-hemolytic streptococci (GABHS) were treated with erythromycin estolate (40 mg/kg/d in two divided doses for five days) or penicillin V (30 mg/kg/d in three divided doses for ten days). Clinical signs and symptoms of tonsillopharyngitis were recorded, and throat cultures were obtained before treatment as well as one to three days and six weeks after treatment. Clinical success (cure and improvement) was observed on days 6 to 8 in 100 of 102 (98%) assessable children treated with erythromycin estolate and on days 11 to 13 in 97 of 99 (98%) assessable children treated with penicillin V. Of all patients showing clinical success, 11 were rated as improved, all of whom were treated with erythromycin estolate. There was a trend towards increased use of analgesic treatment in the erythromycin estolate group (41% vs 33%). On completion of treatment, the rate of eradication of GABHS was 83.3% in the erythromycin estolate group compared with 87.9% in the penicillin V group. The difference is not significant but does not take into account patients excluded because of erythromycin resistance (3.7%). Clinical recurrence was observed in 11 (10.8%) patients treated with erythromycin estolate and in 6 (6.1%) patients treated with penicillin V (non-significant difference). Compliance in the erythromycin estolate group was statistically superior to that in the penicillin V group. The incidence and nature of adverse events were similar in both treatment groups.

No abstract