Roxithromycin compared with erythromycin against genitourinary chlamydial infections. (1/10)

The efficacy and safety of roxithromycin 300 mg once a day was compared with that of erythromycin 500 mg twice a day, both for seven days, in a double blind study of 281 patients (188 men, 93 women) with genitourinary chlamydial infections. At the end of the treatment 251 (89%) patients were evaluable, and at follow up two weeks later 227 (81%) were evaluable. The bacteriological cure rate was close to 100% at the end of both treatment regimens. At follow up 55/75 (73%) evaluable men and 38/39 (97%) evaluable women treated with roxithromycin were chlamydia negative compared with 50/71 (70%) evaluable men and 37/42 (88%) evaluable women treated with erythromycin. Of the 47 who were still chlamydia positive, reinfection could not be excluded in half the men and all the women. Side effects were mainly gastrointestinal and were found in about 15% of patients receiving each treatment, but did not necessitate discontinuing treatment in any case. Roxithromycin seems to be as safe and efficacious as erythromycin in treating chlamydial infections in men and women, and it has the advantage that treatment is by a single daily dose.  (+info)

Campylobacter pyloridis and associated gastritis: investigator blind, placebo controlled trial of bismuth salicylate and erythromycin ethylsuccinate. (2/10)

An investigator blind trial was performed comparing bismuth salicylate, erythromycin ethylsuccinate, and placebo in the treatment of Campylobacter pyloridis associated gastritis in patients without peptic ulceration. Fifty patients fulfilled the study criteria. There was a strong correlation between the presence of C pyloridis and histologically confirmed gastritis. Clearance of organisms led to improvement of the gastritis. C pyloridis was cleared from 15 patients; of these, 13 had gastritis initially, which resolved in 12. Conversely, gastritis resolved in only four of 32 patients not cleared of organisms (p less than 0.0001). There was significantly greater improvement in endoscopic appearances in the patients cleared of C pyloridis compared with those whose infection persisted (p less than 0.001). In the three treatment groups organisms were cleared from 14 of 18 patients receiving the locally active bismuth salicylate, only one of 15 patients receiving erythromycin ethylsuccinate, and none of 17 patients taking placebo. These findings suggest that the ideal antimicrobial for the successful eradication of C pyloridis associated gastritis should be locally active, stable at low pH, and should penetrate gastric mucus. The resolution of gastritis and improvement in endoscopic appearances associated with clearance of C pyloridis support the view that these organisms may play a part in this condition.  (+info)

Plasma bactericidal activity after administration of erythromycin estolate and erythromycin ethylsuccinate to healthy volunteers. (3/10)

In a crossover design study, we compared the plasma bactericidal activities of erythromycin estolate (500 mg) and erythromycin ethylsuccinate (600 mg) after administration of a single oral dose to 12 healthy volunteers. Both erythromycin esters displayed very good plasma bactericidal activities against Streptococcus pneumoniae. The median bactericidal titers produced in plasma against Streptococcus pyogenes and Streptococcus pneumoniae were significantly higher with erythromycin estolate than with the ethylsuccinate ester at both 2 and 8 h after dosing (P less than 0.05 by Student's t test). Both erythromycin esters showed rather weak bactericidal activity against Branhamella catarrhalis; a further look at these results indicated that erythromycin estolate presented 50% of the plasma samples at 2 h with bactericidal titers superior or equal to 1:8, versus 11% for the ethylsuccinate ester. Of the 60 plasma bactericidal activity tests performed against Staphylococcus aureus, only 6 (10%) and 3 (5%) exhibited titers of 1:8 or greater for erythromycin estolate and erythromycin ethylsuccinate, respectively. Clinical trials are warranted in which these products are compared in infections other than Streptococcus pyogenes pharyngitis, for which the clinical superiority of erythromycin estolate has been demonstrated.  (+info)

Pharmacokinetic advantages of erythromycin estolate over ethylsuccinate as determined by high-pressure liquid chromatography. (4/10)

The pharmacokinetics of erythromycin estolate (500 mg) and erythromycin ethylsuccinate (600 mg) were compared in 12 healthy volunteers after single doses and after repeated oral doses (every 8 h). High-pressure liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection was used to determine concentrations in plasma and urine of estolate, ethylsuccinate, and erythromycin base. The maximum concentration of drug in the serum, the half-life, and the area under the curve for erythromycin estolate were significantly greater than those of erythromycin ethylsuccinate after both regimens. After single and multiple doses, the respective areas under the curve of erythromycin base generated by estolate formulation were 3 and 1.6 times greater (P less than 0.05) than those of ethylsuccinate. The lower percentage of hydrolysis of erythromycin estolate (41 versus 69%) combined with its longer half-life (5.47 versus 2.72 h) and its larger area under the curve (30.61 versus 4.68 micrograms/h/ml, after multiple doses) could explain these differences. This study underscores the need for a specific high-pressure liquid chromatography assay and the importance of wide variability, rate-limited processes, changes with multiple doses, and the appearance of a second peak when one studies the pharmacokinetics of erythromycin esters. The pharmacokinetic data presented in this study reinforce the clinical advantages of erythromycin estolate over erythromycin ethylsuccinate.  (+info)

Additional antibiotic inhibitors of peptidoglycan synthesis. (5/10)

Diumycin, janiemycin, nisin, and subtilin inhibited peptidoglycan synthesis catalyzed by particulate enzyme systems from Bacillus stearothermophilus and Escherichia coli. All of these, except for nisin, also induced accumulation of the lipid intermediate in peptidoglycan synthesis. Concentrations required for 50% inhibition of peptidoglycan synthesis were less than 0.1 mug/ml for diumycin and in the range of 10 to 100 mug/ml for janiemycin, nisin, and subtilin in both organisms. The discrepancy between the extremely low concentration of diumycin required to inhibit the in vitro system from E. coli and the much higher concentration required to inhibit growth of the organism is noteworthy.  (+info)

Production of the monamycins, novel depsipeptide antibiotics. (6/10)

Methods are described for the production of the monamycins by Streptomyces jamaicensis in shake flasks and jar fermentors. The effects on the fermentation of variations in pH, temperature, medium composition, volume of inoculum, and strain of the organism are discussed. The methods employed for the extraction and for the microbiological assay of the antibiotics are outlined.  (+info)

Trachoma therapy with topical tetracycline and oral erythromycin: a comparative trial. (7/10)

Because topical antibiotic treatment has had a limited effect in previous controlled trials against trachoma, treatment with oral erythromycin was compared with topical tetracycline in 6-8-year-old children in southern Tunisia who had potentially blinding active trachoma. A total of 169 children were divided into two groups that were carefully matched for age, sex, locality, and intensity of disease. Oral erythromycin ethyl succinate in a paediatric dosage form was administered to one group and topical 1% tetracycline ointment to the other group, twice daily, six days a week for three weeks. The two treatments were equivalent in effectiveness and resulted in a substantial decrease in disease intensity and a marked reduction in chlamydial infection detected in conjunctival smears. To maintain blood levels of antibiotics known to be effective in the treatment of chlamydial infections with a dosage schedule possible in a trachoma control programme, one of the long-acting tetracyclines (doxycycline or minocycline) might be considered. Such systemic chemotherapy should be limited to selective treatment of individuals who can be adequately monitored.  (+info)

Influence of food on absorption of erythromycin ethyl succinate. (8/10)

Erythromycin plasma concentrations were determined in 18 subjects after a single dose (800 mg) of a new formulation of erythromycin ethyl succinate taken immediately before, immediately after, and 1 h after food. Adequate absorption occurred with all treatments, although bioavailability was best when the drug was taken before food. Absorption was delayed by food, with the highest and earliest peak plasma erythromycin levels occurring under fasting conditions.  (+info)