Amoxicillin in the Treatment of Infections of the Lower Respiratory Tract

Abstract

Preliminary observations suggest that amoxicillin is likely to supersede ampicillin in the treatment of all infections of the lower respiratory tract caused by sensitive bacterial species, although the reasons for preferring amoxicillin differ in relation to acute and chronic infections. In acute infections in patients whose natural defense mechanisms are temporarily impaired but are basically sound, the sole advantage of amoxicillin is its superior absorption from the gut, which allows the use of lower doses for equivalent clinical effect. In subjects with chronic infections, however, in whom the underlying pathologic changes have caused severe impairment of normal mechanisms of bacterial clearance, the better penetration of amoxicillin into respiratory secretions is a further advantage of this drug, which may well allow more effective bactericidal therapy of these infections than can be achieved with ampicillin.