EFFICACY OF ORAL CIPROFLOXACIN VS. CLARITHROMYCIN FOR TREATMENT OF ACUTE BACTERIAL EXACERBATIONS OF CHRONIC-BRONCHITIS

In this prospective, multicenter, double-blind study, the efficacy of ciprofloxacin was compared with that of clarithromycin as therapy for patients with acute bacterial exacerbations of chronic bronchitis (ABE CB) from whom a pretherapy pathogen was isolated; the efficacy was mea sured by the infection-free interval. Clinical and microbiological res ponses at the end of therapy were secondary efficacy variables. Patien ts randomly received either ciprofloxacin or clarithromycin (500 mg tw ice a day for 14 days). Three hundred seventy-six patients with acute exacerbations of chronic bronchitis were enrolled in the study of whom 234 had an ABECB, Clinical resolution was observed in 90% (89 of 99) of ciprofloxacin recipients and 82% (75 of 91) of clarithromycin recip ients for whom efficacy could be evaluated, The median infection-free interval was 142 days for ciprofloxacin recipients and 51 days for cla rithromycin recipients (P = .15), Bacteriologic eradication rates were 91% (86 of 95) for ciprofloxacin recipients and 77% (67 of 87) for cl arithromycin recipients (P = .01), In summary, compared with clarithro mycin, treatment of ABECB with ciprofloxacin was associated with a tre nd toward a longer infection-free interval and a statistically signifi cantly higher bacteriologic eradication rate.