Cefuroxime compared to amoxicillin-clavulanic acid in the treatment of community-acquired pneumonia.

The study compared the efficacy and safety of cefuroxime (CFX) versus amoxicillin-clavulanic acid (AC) in the treatment of community-acquired pneumonia. A total of 48 patients (mean age 44 years; 32 males and 16 females) were randomised to receive sequential intravenous/oral CFX (750 mg i.v. 8H for 48 H/500 mg p.o bid) and sequential intravenous/oral AC (1.2 g i.v. 8 H for 48 H/ 750 mg p.o. tid) for 7-14 days. The two groups were well matched for age, sex and treatment duration (median 7 days). The most frequent causative organisms were Mycoplasma (3), Klebsiella species (2), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (2) and hemolytic streptococcus (2). clinical cure was obtained in 20 patients (83.3%) and 18 patients (75%) of CFX and AC group respectively. Clinical improvement was observed in one patient of the CFX group. There were 3 failures in the CFX group and 4 failures in the AC group. Two patients in the AC group developed adverse drug reactions (namely vomiting and rash) and were withdrawn from the study. In conclusion, cefuroxime and amoxicillin-clavulanic acid have comparable efficacy and safety in the treatment of community-acquired pneumonia.