A comparison of the efficacy of azithromycin and clarithromycin in oral therapy of experimental airborne Legionnaires' disease

The activities of two new macrolides, azithromycin and clarithromycin, were compared in an aerosol-infected guinea-pig model of legionnaires' disease. The results of this study indicate that a low oral dose of azithromycin (3.6 mg/kg) administered once daily gives 100% survival in Legionella pn...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of antimicrobial chemotherapy Vol. 31 Suppl E; p. 171
Main Authors Fitzgeorge, R B, Lever, S, Baskerville, A
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published England 01.06.1993
Subjects
Administration, Inhalation
Administration, Oral
Aerosols
Animals
Azithromycin
Clarithromycin - pharmacology
Disease Models, Animal
Erythromycin - analogs & derivatives
Erythromycin - pharmacology
Female
Guinea Pigs
Legionella pneumophila
Legionnaires' Disease - drug therapy
Legionnaires' Disease - microbiology
Legionnaires' Disease - pathology
Lung - microbiology
Lung - pathology
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Summary:The activities of two new macrolides, azithromycin and clarithromycin, were compared in an aerosol-infected guinea-pig model of legionnaires' disease. The results of this study indicate that a low oral dose of azithromycin (3.6 mg/kg) administered once daily gives 100% survival in Legionella pneumophila-infected animals. An eight-fold higher dose of clarithromycin (28.8 mg/kg) given twice-daily was required to achieve the same effect. Similarly, azithromycin was more effective than clarithromycin in preventing pyrexia and in reducing numbers of bacteria and lesions in the lung.
ISSN:0305-7453
DOI:10.1093/jac/31.suppl_E.171