Use of available dosage forms of cephalexin in clinical comparison with phenoxymethyl penicillin and benzathine penicillin in the treatment of streptococcal pharyngitis in children.

The effectiveness of cephalexin, an oral cephalosporin using a dosage equivalent to available capsular dosage forms, was studied in relation to the effectiveness of phenoxymethyl penicillin and benzathine penicillin in the treatment of 128 patients with beta-hemolytic streptococcal pharyngitis, all but six of whom had group A streptococci isolated from throat cultures. Approximately one-half, 66 patients, received cephalexin for 10 days; 34 patients received phenoxymethyl penicillin for 10 days; and 28 patients had a single injection of benzathine penicillin. There were four treatment failures determined bacteriologically post-therapy, two in the cephalexin treatment group and one each in the oral penicillin and intramuscular penicillin groups. Similar cure rates of 96.7, 97.1, and 96.4% were computed for the respective treatment regimens. Whereas intramuscular benzathine penicillin remains the regimen of choice in most instances, cephalexin appeared to be as effective as oral penicillin in the elimination of group A streptococci from the pharynx when oral treatment was desired for streptococcal pharyngitis.