Amoxicillin for CAP--three days, or longer?

doi:10.1136/bmj.332.7554.0-a

BMJ 2006;332 (10 June), doi:10.1136/bmj.332.7554.0-a

Amoxicillin for CAP—three days, or longer?

Stopping amoxicillin treatment after three days is no worsethan stopping it after eight days in adults admitted to hospitalwith mild to moderate-severe community acquired pneumonia (CAP)who show substantial improvement after an initial three daysof treatment. El Moussaoui and colleagues (p 1355) measuredclinical and radiological success rates at day 10 and 28 in119 patients who had been treated with intravenous amoxicillinfor three days, then five days oral amoxicillin or placebo.The success rates were similar. A shorter treatment may helpcontain the growing resistance rates of respiratory pathogens.