A COMPARISON OF A FIVE‐DAY REGIMEN OF CEFDINIR WITH A SEVEN‐DAY REGIMEN OF LORACARBEF FOR THE TREATMENT OF ACUTE EXACERBATIONS OF CHRONIC BRONCHITIS

SUMMARY To compare the efficacy and safety of five‐day cefdinir treatment with seven‐day loracarbef treatment in patients with acute exacerbations of chronic bronchitis, 586 patients were enrolled in a multicentre, randomised, double‐blind trial. Patients received either five days of treatment with cefdinir (n=291) at 300 mg twice daily or seven days of treatment with loracarbef (n=295) at 400 mg twice daily. Microbiological assessments were done on sputum specimens obtained at admission and at the two post‐therapy visits, if available. The clinical cure rates were 86% (138/160) and 85% (141/166) for the evaluable patients treated with cefdinir and loracarbef, respectively. Respiratory tract pathogens were isolated from 457 (78%) of 586 admission sputum specimens, with the predominant pathogens being Haemophilus parainfluenzae, H. influenzae, Moraxella catarrhalis and Staphylococcus aureus. The microbiological eradication rates at the test‐of‐cure visit were 88% (193/219 pathogens) and 90% (227/251 pathogens) for the evaluable patients treated with cefdinir and loracarbef, respectively. Adverse event rates while on treatment were 30% and 21% for cefdinir‐ and loracarbef‐treated patients, respectively. These results indicate that a five‐day regimen of cefdinir is effective and safe for the treatment of patients with acute exacerbations of chronic bronchitis. (Int J Clin Pract 2000; 54(5): 293‐299)