Efficacy and safety of telithromycin in community-acquired pneumonia.

Telithromycin, the first ketolide antibacterial, was developed for the treatment of community-acquired respiratory tract infections. This multicenter, open-label, uncontrolled study assessed the efficacy and safety of 800 mg, once-daily telithromycin in adults with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). Based on bacteriologic eradication rates, telithromycin was shown to be effective for the treatment of CAP. Telithromycin was generally well tolerated, with gastro-intestinal adverse events observed most frequently (diarrhea 4/218 [1.8%], nausea 4/218 [1.8%], vomiting 5/218 [2.3%]). These results were consistent with those observed in randomized, active-controlled studies.