Azithromycin in the Management of Upper Respiratory Tract Infections (URTIs): Indian Real-Life Experience.

IF 2.9 3区医学 Q2 INFECTIOUS DISEASES

Infection and Drug Resistance Pub Date : 2025-01-27 eCollection Date: 2025-01-01 DOI:10.2147/IDR.S488479

Mathew Dominic, Rakesh Srivastava, Kshitij Shah, Sudhir M Naik, Khageswar Rout, Bidhan Ray, Dinesh Patil, Darshan Rana, Onkar C Swami

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Abstract

Objective: Upper Respiratory Tract Infections (URTIs) pose a significant public health challenge worldwide. Azithromycin has been approved for its management due to broad-spectrum antibacterial properties and favorable pharmacokinetics. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of Azithromycin in treatment of URTIs in a real-world setting.

Methods: This multicenter, retrospective, observational study was conducted across 184 Ear, Nose, and Throat (ENT) clinics in India. Medical records of adults (≥18 years) who received Azithromycin 500 mg for 5 days to treat URTIs and provided consent were retrieved. Sore throat, fever, and interference with daily activities were assessed alongside clinical signs (pharyngeal erythema, tonsillar erythema, and exudates/plugs on tonsils). Clinical global impression of change was evaluated using a 7-point rating scale. Statistical analyses included paired t-tests for mean score changes and the McNemar-Bowker test to evaluate symptom improvement from baseline to day 5.

Results: Data from 884 patients were analyzed. With 5 days of Azithromycin therapy, significant reduction in proportion of patients reporting URTI symptoms and signs was noted. Proportion of patients reporting sore throat was reduced from 95.8% to 10.4%; work absenteeism dropped from 47.9% to 1%; and fever subsided in 97.4% of patients. Clinical signs also improved notably, with moderate-to-severe pharyngeal erythema (90.9% of patients at baseline to 13.6% at day 5), tonsillar erythema (84% of patients at baseline to 9.6%), and tonsillar exudates (58.3% patients at baseline to 4.4%). Also, 97.2% of patients showed considerable improvement in their Clinical Global Impression score with Azithromycin. Adverse events were reported by 2.37% of patients.

Conclusion: Azithromycin demonstrates a significant improvement in clinical manifestations of URTIs, with a low incidence of adverse events.

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来源期刊

Infection and Drug Resistance Medicine-Pharmacology (medical)

CiteScore

5.60

自引率

7.70%

发文量

826

审稿时长

16 weeks

期刊介绍： About Journal Editors Peer Reviewers Articles Article Publishing Charges Aims and Scope Call For Papers ISSN: 1178-6973 Editor-in-Chief: Professor Suresh Antony An international, peer-reviewed, open access journal that focuses on the optimal treatment of infection (bacterial, fungal and viral) and the development and institution of preventative strategies to minimize the development and spread of resistance.