Inpharma 1461 - 30 Oct 2004

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Cefdinir: advantages in paediatric otitis media A 5-day course of cefdinir is at least as effective as a 10-day amoxicillin/clavulanic acid regimen in children and infants with acute otitis media (AOM), according to researchers from the US. Their multicentre, investigator-blinded study included 425 such patients aged between 6 months and 6 years who were randomised to receive oral cefdinir 14 mg/kg/day twice daily for 5 days (n = 211), or oral amoxicillin/clavulanic acid 45/6.4 mg/kg/day twice daily for 10 days.* Clinical cure rates were similar among cefdinir and amoxicillin/clavulanic acid recipients at the end of treatment visit (88% vs 85%), and at 4 weeks’ follow-up (78% vs 84%). However, cefdinir appeared to be more effective than amoxicillin/clavulanic acid among children who had previously received any dose of heptavalent pneumococcal vaccine (PCV7); clinical cure rates at the end of treatment were significantly higher for cefdinir, compared with amoxicillin/clavulanic acid, among the overall subgroup (92% vs 82%) and among PCV7-vaccinated patients aged 6–24 months (92% vs 77%). Drug-related adverse events were less common among cefdinir, compared with amoxicillin/ clavulanic acid, recipients (24% vs 38%; p = 0.001); most adverse events were mild-to-moderate in severity. * This study was supported by Abbott Laboratories. Block SL, et al. Comparison of five-day cefdinir treatment with ten-day low dose amoxicillin/clavulanate treatment for acute otitis media. Pediatric Infectious 800979496 Disease Journal 23: 834-838, No. 9, Sep 2004

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Inpharma 30 Oct 2004 No. 1461