A clinical study on clarithromycin especially on its granular form for children in pediatrics

: Clarithromycin (TE-031, A-56268), a new macrolide antibiotic, was administered to a total of 25 child patients (age range: 4 months-12 years) to treat infections; the patients consisted of 23 children who received the drug in the form of granules for children and 2 patients who were given tablets. Daily dosages were 14.3 mg/kg (in 2 divided doses) in 1 patient, and 18.3-30.3 mg/kg (in 3 divided doses) in the other 24 patients. Lengths of administration ranged from 4 to 13 days with 6-8 days for 18 of the patients. The results obtained are summarized as follows. 1. Clinical efficacy evaluations for various infections were as follows: 1 excellent, 4 good and 2 fair cases in 7 cases of pertussis; 3 excellent, 2 good and 1 fair cases in 6 cases of tonsillitis; 1 good case in tonsillitis with bronchitis; 1 excellent and 3 good cases in 4 cases of bronchitis; 1 excellent and 1 good cases in 2 cases of pneumonia; and 4 excellent and 1 good cases in 5 cases of enteritis. Thus, evaluations of a total of 25 patients showed 10 excellent, 12 good and 3 fair cases, with no poor cases. The overall clinical efficacy rate was, therefore, 88.0%. These results were attributed to good antimicrobial activity and absorption of TE-031. 2. Causative bacteria were isolated from 12 of the patients. Bacteriological efficacies of TE-031 on those strains were investigated with the following results. Of 5 Haemophilus influenzae strains, 3 were eliminated, 1 was reduced, and no change was observed in the other.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)