CLINICAL STUDY ON CLARITHROMYCIN GRANULE AND TABLET IN THE FIELD OF PEDIATRICS

A newly developed macrolide clarithromycin (TE-031, A-56268), with antibacterial spectrum and antibacterial activity nearly equal to those of erythromycin (EM), shows beneficial characteristics such as a higher blood level, higher recovery rate in urine, and better penetration into each tissue than conventional macrolides (MLs). TE-031 has been studied in adults against various infections and proved to be useful. The present paper describes the results of a study in children to examine the usefulness of TE-031 granules and tablets with a potency of 50mg. TE-031 granules were administered to 132 children with ages from 6 months to 13 years and 10 months. Excluded from the evaluation were 12 cases in which clinical effects were deemed unevaluable. The evaluable subjects consisted of 1 case with pharyngitis, 3 with tonsillitis, 9 with acute bronchitis, 19 with pneumonia, 19 with mycoplasmal pneumonia, 2 with scarlet fever, 20 with Campylobacter enteritis, 11 with impetigo, 2 with subcutaneous abscess, 18 with primary atypical pneumonia and 16 with acute enteritis of unidentified pathogens; a total of 120 subjects. An average daily dose of TE-031 was 25.9mg/kg, divided into 3 doses except 1 case with 2 daily doses and lengths of the treatment averaged 7 days. TE-031 tablets each containing 50mg potency, were administered to 49 subjects with ages from 3 years and a month to 14 years consisting of 8 cases with pharyngitis, 1 with tonsillitis, 1 with acute bronchitis, 4 with pneumonia, 14 with mycoplasmal pneumonia, 4 with scarlet fever, 5 with Campylobacter enteritis, 7 with impetigo, 1 with atypical pneumonia, 1 with Salmonella gastroenteritis and 3 with acute enteritis caused by unidentified pathogens, at an average daily dose of 13.5mg/kg divided into 2-4 doses (2 doses/day for 12 cases, 3 doses for 32, 4 doses for 5) for 7 days on the average. In addition to examine the clinical and bacteriological effects of the 2 dosage forms of TE-031, minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) were determined for 9 antibiotics consisting of 5 MLs including TE-031, EM, josamycin (JM), midecamycin acetate (MDM acetate), and rokitamycin (RKM), 3 penicillins including ampicillin (ABPC), methicillin, cloxacillin and 1 cephem antibiotic, cefaclor (CCL), against 29 strains consisting of 12 strains of Staphylococcus aureus, 7 of Streptococcus pyogenes, 2 of Streptococcus pneumoniae, 2 of Haemophilus influenzae and 6 of Campylobacter jejuni, out of 71 strains of pathogens or possib