Summary

A study was carried out in general practice to assess the clinical effectiveness and tolerability of the oral cephalosporin, cefuroxime axetil, in the treatment of 369 patients presenting with acute infections of the upper respiratory tract. The main diagnoses were tonsillitis, pharyngitis, sinusitis and otitis media. Patients were treated for 7 days with 1 tablet of 250 mg cefuroxime axetil twice daily. Details of fever and signs and symptoms of infection such as pain, sinus tenderness and reddening of the eardrum were recorded before and after treatment. Response was assessed by the physician on the basis of the clinical findings (the microbiological findings will be reported separately), and by patients on their satisfaction with their therapy. The results indicated an overall clinical improvement rate of 89%: all clinical parameters showed significant improvement and most patients were symptom-free when seen after treatment. Only 2 patients were classified as treatment failures and withdrawn from the study. Complete resolution of the infection was seen more often in patients with tonsillitis and pharyngitis than in those with sinusitis or otitis media. Over 80% of patients expressed their satisfaction with therapy. Adverse events reported were few, even though patients were prompted with a non-leading question, and were mainly mild in nature. The most frequently reported were diarrhoea (5%) and loose motions (3%).