B-Hemolytic Streptococcal Illness

Abstract

THIS PAPER presents the results of a comparative study on the therapeutic effectiveness of penicillin G, triacetyloleandomycin (TAO, Cyclamycin), and erythromycin estolate (Ilosone) in β-hemolytic streptococcal infections in children. In 1961¹ we reported a similar study and found that although penicillin and triacetyloleandomycin were of about equal efficacy in the treatment of these illnesses, the erythromycin preparation used, erythromycin propionate, was definitely inferior to the other two drugs. Following these clincal studies a new form of erythromycin (erythromycin estolate) was found by Griffith² to be absorbed better than was the erythromycin propionate which we had first studied. Because this later drug was otherwise such an excellent one and had been used so widely as a substitute for penicillin in streptococcal infections, the newer form was deemed worthy of another clincal trial. Accordingly, in October 1963 a second study was set up to compare these three drugs using the