Abstract
Azithromycin (AZM) was studied for its concentrations in plasma and urine, efficacy and safety.
1. Plasma and urine samples were collected from one patient diagnosed as having Mycoplasma pneumonia for drug level determination. The drug was given once daily at 9.7 mg/kg body weight for three days. The drug concentrations in plasma was 0.149 μg/ml in 12 hours after the st art of the treatment, and 0.095 μg/ml at the point of 24 hours after the end of the treatment. Urinary recovery rate up to 72 hours post-dosing was 6.39%.
2. The effectiveness of AZM was assessed in 19 patients with following diagnoses: pharyngitis in two patients, bronchitis in four, pneumonia in seven and Mycoplasma pneumonia in six. The drug was rated “excellent” in 11, “good” in seven, “poor” in one, resulting in an efficacy rate of 94.7%.
3. AZM eradicated two strains of Streptococcus pyogenes and Streptococcus pneumoniae identified in patients.
4. T he AZM MIC's were 0.39μg/ml against Staphylococcus aureus, 0.20 μg/ml against S. pneumoniae,≤0.0008.μg/ml against Mycoplasma pneumoniae.
5. One patient complained of mild diarrhea, while another showed a slight increase in eosinophils, suggesting an abnormal laboratory change.
In conclusion, AZM was found useful in treatment of pediatric infections.
