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Clarithromycin Appears To Defeat Bacterial Infections In Wheezing Children: Presented at ICAAC
By Ed Susman
CHICAGO, IL -- September 24, 2003 -- Children with asthma and atypical microbial infections can be treated safely and effectively with clarithromycin, researchers reported here September 16th at the 43rd Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy.
"This study confirms that in a significant number of children with an acute episode of infectious asthma and a history of recurrent wheezing, the association with an acute infection due to atypical bacteria can be demonstrated," said Susanna Esposito, MD, professor of pediatrics, University of Milan, Milan, Italy, during a poster presentation.
Based on recent studies suggesting that infection by Mycoplasma pneumoniae and Chlamydia pneumoniae promotes and exacerbates asthma in children, Dr. Esposito and colleagues treated infected children, aged 1 to 10, with 7.5 mg/kg of clarithromycin twice a day for 14 days or placebo. They enrolled 94 patients in the study between March 2000 and November 2002.
All the children were given standard asthma treatment as well, with inhaled corticosteroids and bronchodilators.
In the analysis, researchers found that administering clarithromycin to children who were infected with the bacterial pathogens resulted in a higher cure rate and a higher improvement rate. The difference among this group of patients was considered statistically significant at the P<0.05 level. About 40% of the children in the study were positive for atypical infections with M. pneumoniae or C. pneumoniae.
"Despite the low number of subjects enrolled," she said, "clarithromycin use is associated with a lower risk of further recurrences both in the subjects initially infected with the M. pneumoniae or C. pneumoniae and in children with asthma not associated with these atypical bacteria."
She said the results suggest that clarithromycin should be considered as part of the armamentarium for treating selected pediatric patients with wheezing symptoms.
The study was supported by Abbott S.p. A., Campoverde, Italy.
[Study title: Double-Blind, Randomized, Placebo Controlled Trial of Clarithromycin Therapy in Children with Recurrent Acute Wheezing. Abstract G-1542]
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