A BACTERIOLOGICALLY CONTROLLED, RANDOMIZED STUDY COMPARING THE EFFICACY OF 2-PERCENT MUPIROCIN OINTMENT (BACTROBAN) WITH ORAL ERYTHROMYCIN IN THE TREATMENT OF PATIENTS WITH IMPETIGO

Sixty patients participated in a bacteriologically controlled, randomized, parallel group comparison of 2% mupirocin ointment (Bactroban) and oral erythromycin ethylsuccinate for the treatment of impetigo. The trial included clinical and bacteriologie evaluations and safety assessments. The Investigator's Global Evaluation, which compared the overall efficacy and safety of the trial drugs, demonstrated a more favorable performance for the mupirocin regimen. This difference was statistically and clinically significant. There were no significant differences between the trial regimens for any of the other efficacy variables examined. The bacteriologie success rate was 100% for both treatment groups. There was a clinically significant difference in adverse experience rates between treatment groups, with four (13%) of the erythromycin-treated patients reporting six adverse experiences versus none of the mupiro-cin-treated patients. The results of the trial indicate that 2% mupirocin ointment is as safe and effective as oral erythromycin ethylsuccinate in the treatment of patients with impetigo. © 1990, American Academy of Dermatology, Inc.. All rights reserved.