Clinical Efficacy of Single 2 g Dose of Azithromycin for the Treatment of Acute Pharyngotonsillitis and Acute Rhinosinusitis

Abstract

We investigated the efficacy of a novel single 2 g dose of azithromycin for the treatment of adult patients diagnosed as having acute pharyngotonsillitis or acute rhinosinusitis. Eighty-eight cases with acute pharyngotonsillitis and 174 cases with acute rhinosinusitis were included in the multicenter single group non-blinded clinical trial from Oct 29, 2010 to Mar 30, 2012. This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of the Ethical Committee of Wakayama Medical University.
We assessed the severity of disease by using the scoring system based on symptoms and local findings. Clinical efficacy rates at 4 days after the treatment were as follows; “Complete response” in 54 cases (62.1%), “Efficacy A” in 22 cases (25.3%), “Efficacy B” in 10 cases (11.5%), and “Ineffective” in 1 case (1.1%) in acute pharyngotonsillitis and “Complete response” in 54 cases (32.1%), “Efficacy A” in 38 cases (22.6%), “Efficacy B” in 59 cases (35.1%), “Ineffective” in 13 cases (7.7%), and “Aggravation” in 4 cases (2.4%) in acute rhinosinusitis. The eradication rates of pathogens at 4 days after the treatment were 85.7% in acute pharyngotonsillitis and 50.8% in acute rhinosinusitis.
Among patients categorized as “Complete response” or “Efficacy A” at 4 days after the treatment, all cases in acute pharyngotonsillitis were involved in “Complete response” at 8 days after the treatment, and 88.1% of acute rhinosinusitis were involved in “Complete response” or “Efficacy A”.
These results show the high efficacy of single 2 g dose of azithromycin in treating adult acute pharyngotonsillitis and acute rhinosinusitis. Data clearly indicated the usefulness of the clinical scoring system: from which a score at 4 days after the treatment may predict the prognosis of acute infectious disease, and be helpful for decision making on antimicrobial treatments.