Table 1. Characteristics and outcomes of the studies comparing compliance with once versus twice/thrice/four times daily antibiotic regimens.
| First author, Year | Study design; study period, country | Number of pts; age group, site of infection | Antibiotic regimens | Compliance | Definition of compliance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OD (%) | BID/TID/QID (%) | |||||
| Hosie, 1995[25] | MC single-blind; 1991–1992, UK | 212; >18yo, AECB | Dirithromycin 500 mg OD for 5 d vs clarithromycin 250 mg BID for 7 d | 100/104 (96.2) | 96/108 (88.9) | Took all the medication |
| Kardas, 2007[7] | SC open-label; NR, Poland | 119; >18yo, respiratory tract infections | Clarithromycin in modified release formulation 500 mg OD vs clarithromycin 250 mg BID for 7 d | 54/58 (93.1) | 50/61 (82) | Ratio of the number of container openings to the number of prescribed doses |
| Martinot, 2001[6] | SC single-blind; NR, Belgium | 250; >35yo, AECB | Clarithromycin MR 500 mg OD vs amoxicillin/clavulanic acid 500 mg/125 mg TID for 7 d | 121/127 (95.3) | 98/123 (79.7) | 100% compliance |
| Lennon, 2008[9] | SC open-label; 1996–1998, New Zealand | 353; 5–12 yo, GABHS pharyngitis | Oral amoxicillin 1500 mg OD (or 750 mg if bodyweight was <30 kg) vs oral penicillin V 500 mg BID (or 250 mg if bodyweight was >20 kg) for 10 d | 176/177 (99.4) | 175/176 (99.4) | Received >80% of the scheduled doses |
| Adam, 2001[11] | MC open-label; 1995–1998, Germany | 2099; children, upper respiratory tract infections | Ceftibuten 9 mg/kg OD for 5 d vs penicillin V 50,000 I.E./kg TID for 10 d | 492/507 (97) | 1305/1412 (92.4) | NR |
| García Callejo, 1998[21] | SC open-label; NR, Spain | 145; 3–18yo, ENT infections | Azithromycin 10 mg/kg in children or 500 mg/day in adults OD for 3 d vs amoxicillin/clavulanic acid 40 mg/kg in children or 500 mg/kg in adults TID or cefaclor 40 mg/kg in children or 250 mg/kg in adults TID for 7–14 d | 67/67 (100) | 65/78 (83.3) | NR |
| Clegg, 2006[10] | SC single-blind; 2001–2003, USA | 590;3–18 yo, GAS pharyngitis | <40kg: Amoxicillin OD 750 mg vs amoxicillin BID 375 mg for 10 d / >40kg: Amoxicillin OD 1000 mg vs amoxicillin BID 500 mg for 10 d | 271/294 (92.2) | 270/296 (91.2) | Daily logs returned at visit 2 |
| Ballantyne, 1985[12] | SC open-label; NR, NR | 200; 6–80yo, skin and soft-tissue infections | Cefadroxil 1000 mg OD vs cefaclor 250 mg TID for 10 d | 98/100 (98) | 23/100 (23) | Took all the medication |
| Linder 1993[26] | MC open-label; NR, USA | 289; 1–18yo, skin infections | Cefadroxil 30 mg/kg or caps 500 mg OD for 10 d vs cephalexin 30 mg/kg/day or caps 500 mg/d BID for 10 d | 148/156 (94.9) | 85/133 (63.9) | Took all the medication |
| Gooch, 1997[24] | MC open-label, randomized; NR, USA | 286; 6m-12yo, acute otitis media | Cefixime 8 mg/kg OD vs amoxicillin/clavulanic acid 40 mg/kg/day TID for 10 d | 147/148 (99.3) | 82/138 (59.4) | Convenient administration schedule |
| Edelstein, 1993[19] | MC open-label; NR, USA | 103; >18yo, sinusitis | Cefixime 400 mg OD vs amoxicillin 500 mg TID for 10 d (or if needed 4 d more) | 51/55 (92.7) | 34/48 (70.8) | Less than the prescribed doses |
| Owen,1993[28] | SC open-label; 1987–1988, USA | 152; 2 mo-6yo, acute otitis media | Cefixime 8 mg/kg/d OD vs amoxicillin 40 mg/kg/d TID for 10 d | 77/80 (96.3) | 61/72 (84.7) | ≥80% of the prescribed medication |
| Venuta, 1998[31] | SC single-blind; 1994–1997, Italy | 164; 4–13yo, streptococcal pharingitis | Azithromycin 10 mg/kg OD for 3 d vs clarithromycin 7.5 mg/kg BID for 10 d | 76/81(93.8) | 64/83 (77.1) | Compliance with the allocated treatment |
| Disney, 1990[18] | MC open-label; 1989, USA | 180; >2yo, GABHS tonsillopharyngitis | Cefadroxil 30 mg/kg OD vs erythromycin 30 mg/kg QID for 10 d | 92/96 (95.8) | 77/84 (91.7) | Amount of medication returned |
| Mita,2003[27] | MC open-label; 2002–2003, Japan | 49; >60yo, respiratory tract infections | Levofloxacin 300 mg OD vs levofloxacin 100 mg TID for 7 d | 22/25 (88) | 21/24 (87.5) | NR |
Abbreviations: MC: multicenter, SC: single-center, RCT: randomized controlled trial, NR: not reported, yo: years old, mo: months, d: days, OD: once-daily, BID: twice-daily, TID: thrice-daily, QID: four times daily, AECB: acute exacerbation of chronic bronchitis, GABHS: group A b-haemolytic streptococcal, GAS: group A streptococcal, ENT: ear, nose and throat infections