CHILDREN WITH PERSISTENT COUGH - OUTCOME WITH TREATMENT AND ROLE OF MORAXELLA-CATARRHALIS

52 children with severe cough persisting for more than 10 days were ra ndomized to treatment with amoxycillin/clavulanic acid or placebo in a prospective double-blinded study. Clinically suspected eases of pertu ssis were excluded, yet 12 (23%) of the children had laboratory verifi ed pertussis infection. The nasopharyngeal colonization showed a predo minance of Moraxella catarrhalis which was isolated in 37 (71%) childr en. Streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae were isolated in 11 (20%) and 16 (30%) children, respectively. The antibiotic-treate d group had a significantly better recovery in both the pediatrician's estimation (p = 0.02) and the independent parental judgement (p = 0.0 02). These findings are consistent with the view that Moraxella catarr halis could be directly involved in the pathogenesis of persistent cou gh in children.