Once-daily cefadroxil versus oral penicillin in the pediatric treatment of streptococcal pharyngitis.

Thirty-two patients with pharyngitis were randomly assigned to receive either 30 mg/kg of cefadroxil every 24 hours orally or 15 mg/kg of penicillin V potassium every eight hours orally for ten days. Sera for antistreptolysin-O, streptozyme, and anti-DNAase were compared before and after treatment. Twenty patients finished the study and had a confirmed throat culture for the group A streptococcus and at least one fourfold antibody rise. Of these 20 patients, seven of eight in the penicillin group and all 12 in the cefadroxil group were cured at the end of therapy. One patient in the penicillin group had a positive culture at the end of therapy; one patient in each group was recolonized at follow-up culture 10 to 20 days after ending therapy. Seven other patients who finished the study had a positive throat culture but no antibody response and were presumed carriers; these included five in the penicillin and two in the cefadroxil group. One of these presumed carriers had a persistent infection and relapsed two days after the end of therapy. Both therapies appeared to be equally successful and no serious side effects occurred.