Erythromycin in respiratory tract infection.

One of the main uses of erythromycin in respiratory tract infection has been in the treatment of acute streptococcal tonsillitis as an alternative to penicillin. Studies on the quantitative bacteriology of tonsils obtained at tonsillectomy have shown large numbers of both haemolytic streptococci and Haemophilus species in most samples and these organisms can be effectively reduced in number by preoperative treatment with antibiotics such as erythromycin. Such investigations suggest that erythromycin might have wider use in the treatment of respiratory tract infections, particularly where Haemophilus influenzae and other Haemophilus species are involved. Apart from specific infections such as those due to Mycoplasma pneumoniae, erythromycin is effective in the treatment of acute pneumonia due to organisms such as the pneumococcus, and this paper reports the further use of erythromycin in the treatment of acute exacerbations of chronic bronchitis where the clinical and bacteriological effects of treatment with this antibiotic are compared with those of ampicillin.