Impetigo contagiosa III. Comparative efficacy of oral erythromycin and topical mupirocin.

Abstract

Ninety-seven patients with impetigo were prospectively enrolled in a study to determine the comparative efficacy of systemic and topical antibiotic therapy. After obtaining a bacterial culture from a representative lesion, the children were randomized to receive seven days of either oral erythromycin or topical mupirocin administered three times daily. Staphylococcus aureus alone was isolated from 51% and in association with group A beta-hemolytic streptococci (GABS) from 29%; GABS alone was isolated from 4% of patients. Of 48 children who received erythromycin, 43 (90%) were clinically improved or cured, and 11 of 17 were bacteriologically cured. Of 49 children who received mupirocin, 47 (96%) were clinically improved or cured, and 10 of 14 were bacteriologically cured. At three-week follow-up, clinical cure rates and number of secondary household cases of impetigo were equivalent in both treatment groups. Mupirocin appears to be a well-tolerated, albeit expensive, alternative to erythromycin for the treatment of impetigo.

• Authors: L L Barton, A D Friedman, A M Sharkey, D J Schneller, E M Swierkosz
• Journal: Pediatric dermatology (Pediatr Dermatol) Vol. 6 Issue 2 Pg. 134-8 (Jun 1989) ISSN: 0736-8046 [Print] United States
• PMID: 2501775 (Publication Type: Clinical Trial, Comparative Study, Journal Article, Randomized Controlled Trial, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)

Chemical References

• Anti-Bacterial Agents
• Fatty Acids
• Erythromycin
• Mupirocin

Topics

• Administration, Oral
• Administration, Topical
• Adolescent
• Anti-Bacterial Agents (therapeutic use)
• Child
• Child, Preschool
• Drug Resistance, Microbial
• Erythromycin (administration & dosage, adverse effects, metabolism, therapeutic use)
• Fatty Acids (administration & dosage, adverse effects, metabolism, therapeutic use)
• Female
• Humans
• Impetigo (drug therapy, pathology)
• Infant
• Male
• Mupirocin
• Prospective Studies
• Random Allocation
• Staphylococcus aureus (isolation & purification)
• Streptococcus (isolation & purification)