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Telithromycin Effective in Treating Elderly Patients with Community-Acquired Pneumonia: Presented at AGS

By Emma Hitt

BALTIMORE, MD -- May 20, 2003 -- Telithromycin, a new ketolide antibiotic designed for community-acquired respiratory tract infections, appears to be effective in treating elderly patients, according to new research.

Charles M. Fogarty, MD, with the Spartanburg Regional Medical Center, South Carolina, United States, and colleagues reported study findings at the Annual Meeting of the American Geriatrics Society on May 16^th.

According to the researchers, telithromycin has potent activity against typical and atypical respiratory pathogens, including resistant strains of Streptococcus pneumoniae and its efficacy in treating CAP has been previously established.

"An estimated 90% of deaths associated with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) occur in patients 65 years of age or older," they add. To determine the drug's efficacy in the elderly, Dr. Fogarty and colleagues conducted a pooled analysis of 8 phase III trials involving 2,991 patients. All patients had radiologically confirmed CAP. Patients received telithromycin 800 mg per day for 7 to 10 days (5 days in 1 study) or a comparator antibiotic (amoxicillin, clarithromycin, or trovafloxacin).

The researchers assessed clinical cure and bacteriologic outcomes on days 17 to 24 and stratified cure rates by age.

Age did not affect clinical outcome, Dr. Fogarty and colleagues report. Among all age groups, the pooled clinical cure rate was 91.2% for patients receiving telithromycin compared to 90.74% in those receiving a comparator. Of the 278 patients aged 65 years or older, 87.41% achieved a clinical cure with telithromycin compared to a 91.80% rate in those less than 65 years.

Telithromycin appeared to be safe and well tolerated and "comparable with other well-characterized antibacterial agents used in the treatment of CAP." The most common adverse events were nausea, diarrhoea, and vomiting. "Telithromycin 800 mg (2 X 400 mg) tablets for 7-10 days may be an efficacious first-line treatment option for patients with CAP across a broad age spectrum," the researchers conclude.

The study was funded by Aventis Pharmaceuticals, marketers of telithromycin (HMR-3647; Ketek).


[Study Title: Telithromycin is Clinically Effective in Patients with Community-Acquired Pneumonia (CAP) Irrespective of Age. Abstract P398]

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