Efficacy of twice-daily amoxycillin/clavulanate in lower respiratory tract infections

In this double-blind, double-dummy study, 324 patients with clinical evidence of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) or an acute exacerbation of chronic bronchitis were randomly assigned to receive 10 days' treatment with either amoxycillin/clavulanate 875/125 mg twice daily or amoxycillin/clavulanate 500/125 mg three times daily. At the end of therapy, clinical success rates were 92.4% for the twice daily regimen and 94.2% for the three times daily regimen. There was no statistically significant difference between treatments (p=0.647) and the 95% confidence interval around the treatment difference indicated that the two treatments were equivalent. Treatment equivalence was also confirmed at follow-up, four weeks after the end of treatment. Both regimens were well tolerated. In conclusion, amoxycillin/clavulanate 875/125 mg twice dal ly is as effective as amoxycillin/clavulanate 500/125 mg three times daily for the treatment of community-acquired lower respiratory tract infections and could improve patient compliance.Philippine Gen Hosp, Dept Med, Manila, PhilippinesICIC, Inst Costarricense Invest Clin, San Jose, Costa RicaHotel Dieu, France Hosp, Beirut, LebanonKEM Hosp, Bombay, Maharashtra, IndiaDr Sutomo Gen Hosp, Surabaya, IndonesiaHosp Gen Durango, Durango, MexicoNatl Inst Resp Dis, Mexico City, DF, MexicoKing Edward Med Coll, Lahore, PakistanMayo Hosp, Lahore, PakistanEscola Paulista Med, BR-04023 Sao Paulo, BrazilPramongkutklao Hosp, Bangkok, ThailandFMUSP, Sao Paulo, BrazilEscola Paulista Med, BR-04023 Sao Paulo, BrazilWeb of Scienc