Clinical Efficacy and Tolerance of Bacampicillin and Amoxycillin Suspensions in Children with Acute Otitis Media

Abstract

A total of 97 children with acute otitis media were entered into a single-blind, parallel-group study to compare the efficacy and tolerance of suspensions of bacampicillin, given twice daily, with amoxycillin, given three times daily. The daily dosage was about 40 mg/kg body weight in each case and the duration of treatment was 10 days. Patients were examined before the start of treatment, at an early follow-up visit within 2–3 weeks after the start of treatment and at a late follow-up visit 4–6 weeks after the start of treatment. The initial bacteriology revealed a relatively high proportion of Branhamella catarrhalis and a low incidence of pneumococci. In total, 92 patients were evaluated for efficacy at early follow-up, where both bacampicillin and amoxycillin showed equal and good treatment results in approximately 90% of cases. Evaluation at the last valid visit showed that 80–90% of the patients were either cured or improved. The failure frequency tended to be somewhat higher with amoxycillin.