[Erythromycin versus amoxicillin for the treatment of pneumonia in children (author's transl)].

Following a study in which the etiology of nearly 70% of 142 cases of pneumonia in children could be determined using a combination of bacteriological and serological methods, the effect of erythromycin ethylsuccinate was compared with that of amoxicillin in a randomized study on 120 cases of pneumonia. We first examined the tracheal secretion microbiologically and determined other serological parameters and clinical data. The tracheal secretion was sterile in only 19% of the cases. We were able to identify the etiology in 64% of the cases using a combination of microbiological and serological methods. A discontinuation of therapy and acceptable side-effects were considerably more frequent with amoxicillin than with erythromycin ethylsuccinate (75 mg/kg body weight). The advantages of erythromycin, especially for the initial therapy of pneumonia, and the improvements in diagnosis resulting from the examination of the tracheal secretion will be discussed.

RCT Entities:   Population Interventions Outcomes