Effectiveness of Cefetamet Pivoxil in the Treatment of Pyelonephritis in Children

Abstract

Cefetamet pivoxil was investigated in an open, randomized comparative study involving a total of 37 children with acute pyelonephritis, whose ages ranged from 2 to 14 years. The patients received either 10 mg/kg ( n = 18) or 20 mg/kg ( n = 8) cefetamet pivoxil twice daily, or 30–50 mg/kg amoxycillin/clavulanic acid three times daily ( n = 11) for a period of 7–10 days. Escherichia coli was the main causative agent isolated in 28 (75.7%) of the patients; other pathogens included Proteus mirabilis (three patients), Proteus species (one patient), Klebsiella pneumoniae (two patients), Pseudomonas diminuta (one patient) and mixed infections (three patients). No differences in the overall treatment outcome could be observed between the treatment regimens used and, at the end of treatment, all pathogens were eradicated with neither relapse, nor persistence of the isolated pathogen, nor reinfection occurring. The clinical signs and symptoms had subsided in all patients at treatment end and the tolerability of the trial drugs was found to be satisfactory with no premature treatment withdrawal required. It is concluded that cefetamet pivoxil in the standard twice-daily dose of 10 mg/kg was equally effective and as well tolerated as 20 mg/kg cefetamet pivoxil given twice daily or 30–50 mg/kg amoxycillin/clavulanic acid given three times daily.