Telithromycin for the treatment of acute bacterial maxillary sinusitis: A review of a new antibacterial agent

Objective: Telithrornycin, the first approved ketolide antibiotic, was developed to treat community-acquired respiratory tract infections, including acute bacterial maxillary sinusitis (ABMS). A previously published study showed that a 5-day Course of 800 mg telithromycin once daily is as effective as a 10-day course in the treatment of ABMS. Materials and Methods: Data were pooled from two controlled, multinational, prospective, randomized, double-blinded ABMS trials comparing 5-day telithromycin (800 ing once daily) with 10-day anioxicillin-clavulanate (500/125 ing 3 times daily) and cefuroxime axetil (250 mg twice daily). Clinical cure and bacteriologic eradication rates were compared by means of descriptive statistics. Results: The clinical cure rate for telithromycin was 80.9% versus 77.4% for comparators; bacteriologic eradication rate for telithromycin was 84.9% versus 81.7% for comparators. Most adverse events were mild to moderate in intensity and, most commonly, gastrointestinal in nature. Conclusions: These results support the conclusion that 5 days of treatment with telithromycin is as safe and effective in patients with ABMS as a 10-day course of treatment with arnoxicillin-clavulanate or ccfuroxiine axetil.