ABSTRACT
Cefaclor was used as a therapeutic agent in beta-haemolytic streptococcal throat infections in children in 3 separate studies. Although the numbers of patients in these ongoing studies are too small for valid statistical analysis, cefaclor was found to be (1) an effective agent in a dose of 20 mg/kg/day, (2) as effective as phenoxymethyl penicillin at identical dosages, and (3) equally effective at doses administered twice daily or thrice daily. It was well accepted by the patients, had minimal side effects, and produced no adverse effects in the peripheral blood.
Subject(s)
Cefaclor/therapeutic use , Cephalexin/analogs & derivatives , Pharyngitis/drug therapy , Streptococcal Infections/drug therapy , Adolescent , Cefaclor/administration & dosage , Child , Child, Preschool , Drug Administration Schedule , Female , Humans , Male , Methicillin/therapeutic use , Streptococcus pyogenesSubject(s)
Pharyngitis/etiology , Scarlet Fever , Streptococcal Infections , Child , Child, Preschool , Erythema/etiology , Female , Humans , Penicillins/therapeutic use , Pharyngitis/diagnosis , Pharyngitis/pathology , Recurrence , Scarlet Fever/diagnosis , Scarlet Fever/drug therapy , Scarlet Fever/pathology , Streptococcal Infections/diagnosis , Streptococcal Infections/pathologySubject(s)
Streptococcus , Antibodies, Bacterial , Antigens, Bacterial , Bacteriological Techniques , Child , Humans , Microbial Sensitivity Tests , Streptococcal Infections/immunology , Streptococcus/classification , Streptococcus/immunology , Streptococcus/isolation & purification , Streptococcus/metabolism , Streptococcus agalactiae/classification , Streptococcus agalactiae/isolation & purification , Streptococcus pyogenes/classification , Streptococcus pyogenes/isolation & purificationABSTRACT
Children presenting with acute respiratory disease to a private group practice in the fall of 1975 were studied to: (1) evaluate the efficacy in a pediatric office of a simple technics of obtaining nasal washes for the diagnosis of parainfluenza virus infections and (2) to determine the quantities of virus shed in relation to clinical characteristics. The nasal wash technic proved feasible for an office or clinic. Parainfluenza virus type 1 was recovered from 26 (74%) of 35 children with croup and from 40 (56%) of the total 72 children presenting with any form of respiratory illness. Virus was recovered significantly more often from children with croup and from those of younger age. The mean quantity of virus in 26 nasal washes was 2.97 log10 TCID50/ml. The shedding of greater quantities was correlated with younger age and the more frequent occurrence of laryngitis, pharyngitis, and fever.
Subject(s)
Nasal Mucosa/microbiology , Parainfluenza Virus 1, Human/isolation & purification , Paramyxoviridae Infections/microbiology , Acute Disease , Adolescent , Age Factors , Bacteriological Techniques , Child , Child, Preschool , Croup/microbiology , Female , Fever/microbiology , Humans , Infant , MaleABSTRACT
More than 20,000 acute respiratory illnesses of children were studied by physicians in private practice to derive a nine-factor scorecard designed to estimate the probability that a given child's respiratory illness is caused by beta-hemolytic streptococci. Each factor was assigned a weight on the basis of the percentage of positive cultures from patients exhibiting that factor. The sum of these individual scores gave the total score. The higher a patient's score, the more probable was a streptococcal infection. Thus, depending on the score, a reasonably accurate prediction of the probability of a streptococcal infection can be made. The accuracy of such predictions compared favorably with that of skilled physicians.
