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document
Effectiveness of erythromycin in the treatment of acute bronchitis . BACKGROUND Clinical trials have not shown a consistent benefit of treating bronchitis with antibiotics . Many physicians , however , treat acute bronchitis with antibiotics because of the possibility of Mycoplasma pneumoniae or other pathogens . The objectives of this study were to determine the effectiveness of erythromycin treatment in patients with acute bronchitis and to determine whether a newly developed rapid M pneumoniae antibody test is useful in predicting which patients will respond to therapy . METHODS We conducted a randomized , double-blind , placebo-controlled clinical trial at three primary care centers in North Carolina . A convenience sample of 140 patients presenting with acute bronchitis were tested for M pneumoniae , 91 of whom were treated with either erythromycin 250 mg four times daily for 10 days or an identical-appearing placebo . RESULTS Patients treated with erythromycin missed an average of only 0.81 +/- 1.1 days of work compared with 2.16 +/- 3.2 days for placebo-treated patients ( P < .02 ) . There were no significant differences in cough , use of cough medicine , general feeling of well-being , or chest congestion between the erythromycin and placebo groups . Twenty-five percent of the patients tested positive for M pneumoniae . There were no differences in response to erythromycin based on whether the patient had a positive test for M pneumoniae . CONCLUSIONS Erythromycin is effective in significantly reducing lost time from work , but it is not effective in reducing cough or other symptoms in patients with acute bronchitis , regardless of the outcome of the M pneumoniae antibody test .
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Intervention_Pharmacological
erythromycin
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Intervention_Pharmacological
erythromycin
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Intervention_Pharmacological
erythromycin
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Intervention_Pharmacological
erythromycin
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Intervention_Control
placebo-treated
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Intervention_Pharmacological
erythromycin
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Intervention_Control
placebo
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Intervention_Pharmacological
erythromycin
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Intervention_Pharmacological
Erythromycin
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Outcome_Other
days of work
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Outcome_Physical
cough
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Outcome_Physical
use of cough medicine
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Outcome_Mental
general feeling of well-being
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Outcome_Physical
chest congestion