Cefadroxil in the management of facial cellulitis of odontogenic origin.

The objectives of this prospective single-blind trial were to compare the efficacy and safety of cefadroxil, 1 gm/day, and cephalexin, 250 mg four times a day, in the treatment of facial cellulitis of odontogenic origin. One hundred sixteen patients were screened for sensitivity to the assigned antibiotic and then randomly assigned treatment groups. Fifty-eight (100%) of the cefadroxil-treated patients and 57 (98%) of the cephalexin-treated patients were considered cured. Adverse reactions were noted in only two cefadroxil-treated patients and one cephalexin-treated patient. One patient from each group discontinued therapy prematurely; the patient who discontinued cephalexin was the only treatment failure in this study. This study found that cefadroxil administered once a day was therapeutically equivalent to cephalexin given four times a day.