Clinical evaluation of azithromycin in pediatric infections

Azithromycin (AZM) was studied for its clinical efficacy in pediatric infections. The study on AZM was carried out in 43 patients whose diagnoses were given as follows: pharyngitis in five cases, tonsillitis in one, bronchitis in four, pneumonia in four, Mycoplasma pneumonia in 14, scarlet fever in nine, impetigo in four, pyodermia in one and Campylobacter enteritis in one. The patients received AZM once daily at 1.6 approximately 20.0 mg/kg body weight for three to five days. Effectiveness of AZM was evaluated in 39 cases and the drug was rated "excellent" in 15, "good" in 19, "fair" in one, "poor" in four, resulting in an efficacy rate of 87.2%. Twenty bacterial isolates were identified as causative isolates in 19 patients: Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pyogenes, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, Campylobacter jejuni and Mycoplasma pneumoniae. AZM eradicated 16 isolates but four persisted after therapy. One patient complained of loose stool, while two patients were found with decreases in white blood cell counts, and seven showed increases in eosinophils. However, no serious case of adverse event was reported.