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Comparative evaluation of cefpodoxime versus cefixime in children with lower respiratory tract infections
Jayati Sengupta1, A K Mondal, Piyush Jain
1Amri Hospitals, Kolkata.
Insights
Cefpodoxime demonstrated superior clinical cure and bacterial eradication rates compared to cefixime in treating pediatric acute lower respiratory tract infections. This study highlights cefpodoxime as a well-tolerated and effective empirical treatment option.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric infectious diseases
- Pharmacology
- Microbiology
Background:
- Increasing resistance to penicillin and macrolides necessitates alternative treatments for pediatric Acute Lower Respiratory Tract Infections (ALRTI).
- Third-generation cephalosporins offer a promising therapeutic option for bacterial LRTIs.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of two oral third-generation cephalosporins for empirical treatment of community-acquired lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs) in children.
- To compare clinical cure and bacterial eradication rates between cefpodoxime and cefixime.
Main Methods:
- A prospective, open-label, comparative, multicenter study involving 776 pediatric patients with LRTIs (mean age 10 years).
- Patients were randomized to receive either cefpodoxime (5 mg/kg b.i.d., n=396) or cefixime (4 mg/kg b.i.d., n=380) for 10-14 days.
Main Results:
- Cefpodoxime achieved a clinical success rate of 97%, significantly higher than cefixime's 86.8%.
- Bacterial eradication rates were 93.4% for cefpodoxime versus 82.9% for cefixime.
- Cefpodoxime was found to be well-tolerated.
Conclusions:
- Cefpodoxime is a superior and well-tolerated alternative to cefixime for empirical treatment of pediatric LRTIs.
- The findings support cefpodoxime's extended spectrum of activity in treating community-acquired respiratory infections in children.
Objective:
The emergence of penicillin and macrolide resistant strains, responsible for Acute Lower Respiratory Tract Infections in children has offered third generation cephalosporins the platform to perform. The aim of the present study was to evaluate two third generation oral cephalosporins for their empirical use in community acquired lower respiratory tract infections in pediatric patients. An assessment of the clinical cure and bacteriological eradication rates and an overall tolerability was made.
Methods:
It was a prospective, open, comparative, multicentric study. 776 children (Mean age 10 years) with LRTIs were included and randomly allotted to two groups respectively. A total of 396 children were given cefpodoxime susp 5 mg/kg b.i.d. and 380 patients on cefixime 4 mg/kg b.i.d. for 10-14 days.
Results:
At the end of therapy, the clinical success with cefpodoxime was 97% as against 86.8% with cefixime. Bacterial eradication was 93.4% with cefpodoxime and 82.9% with cefixime.
Conclusion:
Cefpodoxime has been found to be a well-tolerated and superior alternative to cefixime synergistically documenting the extended spectrum of activity.
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