Cephalexin monohydrate suspension. Treatment of otitis media
S. E. McLinn, J. F. Daly Jr and J. E. Jones
Cephalexin monohydrate suspension was used in the treatment of 97 children
with otitis media. Pretreatment middle-ear exudate specimens in pure or
mixed culture yielded Diplococcus pneumoniae in 47 cases, Haemophilus
influenzae in 26, Neisseria catarrhalis in 20, group A beta-hemolytic
streptococci in 13, and Staphylococcus aureus in one. The usual dosage was
100 mg/kg/day given orally in divided doses for 10 to 12 days. After 48
hours of treatment, follow-up cultures showed that therapy had been
successful in 90 children; 81 remained clinically and bacteriologically
free of disease for at least three weeks following therapy. Of the seven
children for whom therapy failed, H influenzae persisted in five and D
pneumoniae in two. Acceptance of the drug was entirely satisfactory with no
important side effects encountered.
