Comparison of the efficacy of ceftibuten and norfloxacin in the treatment of acute gastrointestinal infection in children

Abstract

A prospective randomized study was conducted at an infectious disease hospital in Thailand. Ceftibuten was compared with norfloxacin, both given orally for five days for treatment of acute gastroenteritis in children. One hundred and seventy cases were included in the study. Eighty-eight cases were treated with ceftibuten and eighty-two cases with norfloxacin. The baseline characteristics of the patients in both treatment groups were similar. The results showed that mean durations of diarrhea in the ceftibuten and norfloxacin groups were 2.48 days and 2.29 days, respectively, but there was no statistically significant difference between the two groups (p > 0.05). There were Salmonella spp and Shigella spp isolated in both treatment groups and all were susceptible to both antibiotics. The mean durations of Salmonella diarrhea in the ceftibuten and norfloxacin groups were 2.7 and 2.2 days, respectively, while those of Shigella diarrhea were 2.3 days and 2.0 days, respectively. There were no statistically significant differences in either comparison (p > 0.05). Neither complications nor clinical relapses were observed after both antibiotics' treatment.