Azithromycin Compared with Clarithromycin in the Treatment of Adult Patients with Acute Purulent Tracheobronchitis: A Cost of Illness Study

Abstract

Adult, professionally active patients with acute purulent tracheobronchitis were treated with azithromycin (3 or 5 days; n = 62) or clarithromycin (7 to 10 days; n = 69) in an open, randomized study. Bronchitis-related costs and treatment efficacy were assessed at day 5-6 and day 14-21. Both antibiotics were of equal clinical efficacy, although the median time to improvement of symptoms was significantly shorter for azithromycin patients than for clarithromycin patients. Some 77% of azithromycin patients and 78% of clarithromycin patients were unable to work for at least 1 day. The total time when patients were unable to work was shorter for azithromycin patients than for clarithromycin patients, but this difference did not remain significant when weekends and holidays were taken into account. Further studies are needed to assess the impact of azithromycin on time to clinical improvement, on lost working days, and on the associated costs.