Safety and efficacy of Clarithromycin in the treatment of acute mild to moderate respiratory tract infections.

A total of 2,351 adult patients were recruited into a multi-centre open general practice study to investigate the safety and efficacy of Clarithromycin 250 mg b.d. for seven days in the management of acute mild to moderate respiratory tract infections. Overall a clinical success rate of 93.2% was seen with respect to assessment of the response of the respiratory tract infection to Clarithromycin therapy. Summary statistics are presented for each diagnosis recorded. A total of 110 (4.7%) adverse events were reported. Of these 71 (3%) were related to the gastrointestinal tract e.g. nausea, vomiting etc. The above results demonstrate that Clarithromycin in a dose of 250 mg b.d. is a well tolerated and effective therapy in the management of acute mild to moderate respiratory tract infections.