The effect of telithromycin in acute exacerbations of asthma.

Background: We conducted a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study to evaluate the efficacy of telithromycin in patients with acute exacerbations of asthma.

Methods: A total of 278 adults with diagnosed asthma were enrolled within 24 hours after an acute exacerbation of asthma requiring short-term medical care. The patients were randomly assigned to receive 10 days of oral treatment with telithromycin (at a dose of 800 mg daily) or placebo in addition to usual care.

Comparison of hospitalization rates in patients with community-acquired pneumonia treated with 10 days of telithromycin or clarithromycin.

Aims: To compare the impact on hospitalization rates and the clinical efficacy of oral telithromycin and clarithromycin treatment in patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP).

Patients And Methods: Outpatients aged >or= 18 years (n = 448) with CAP were enrolled in a randomized, double-blind, multinational study and received telithromycin 800 mg once daily (n = 224) or clarithromycin 500 mg twice daily (n = 224) for 10 days. The primary outcome measure was clinical efficacy at post-therapy/test of cure (Days 17-24) in the per-protocol population.