A double-blind study comparing cefaclor and amoxycillin in the treatment of respiratory tract infections in general practice

Abstract

A prospective double-blind study was carried out to compare the efficacy of intermittent versus continuous levels of beta-lactam antibiotics. Two hundred and ninety-eight patients attending their general practitioner and requiring treatment for respiratory tract infections were randomly allocated to receive either 250 mg cefaclor 3-times daily (intermittent) or 500 mg amoxycillin 3-times daily (continuous). By most of the parameters used to assess outcomes, the group on cefaclor did better than the group on amoxycillin, although in no case was the difference statistically significant. This result confirms previous studies which have shown that the maintenance of continuous levels of antibiotic is not a necessary objective when using beta-lactam antibiotics.