Table 1.
Selected Baseline Characteristics of Children Enrolled in the Study.*
| Characteristic | Amoxicillin (N = 924) |
Cefdinir (N = 923) |
Placebo (N = 920) |
| Age — mo | 20.6±9.7† | 21.7±10.3 | 20.9±9.8 |
| Mother as primary caretaker — no./total no. (%) | 855/923 (92.6) | 843/923 (91.3) | 843/920 (91.6) |
| Current breast-feeding — no. (%) | 444 (48.1) | 399 (43.2) | 431 (46.8) |
| Kwashiorkor — no. (%) | 649 (70.2) | 664 (71.9) | 632 (68.7) |
| Marasmic kwashiorkor | |||
| No. of children (%) | 78 (8.4) | 73 (7.9) | 93 (10.1) |
| Mid-upper-arm circumference — cm | 10.7±1.1 | 10.7±0.9 | 10.7±1.1 |
| Weight-for-height z score | −3.75±0.64† | −3.56±0.53 | −3.71±0.66 |
| Marasmus | |||
| No. of children (%) | 197 (21.3) | 186 (20.2) | 195 (21.2) |
| Mid-upper-arm circumference — cm | 10.9±1.1 | 11.0±1.1 | 10.9±1.1 |
| Weight-for-height z score | −3.42±0.55 | −3.49±0.58 | −3.44±0.59 |
| Height-for-age z score | |||
| Mean score | −3.13±1.63 | −3.23±1.64 | −3.21±1.47 |
| −2 or lower — no./total no. (%) | 725/917 (79.1) | 756/915 (82.6) | 756/910 (83.1) |
| −3 or lower — no./total no. (%) | 490/917 (53.4) | 509/915 (55.6) | 504/910 (55.4) |
| HIV test performed — no./total no. (%) | |||
| Children tested | 299/923 (32.4) | 277/922 (30.0) | 298/920 (32.4) |
| HIV-seropositive | 61/298 (20.5) | 60/277 (21.7) | 67/296 (22.6) |
| HIV-seropositive and receiving ART | 20/60 (33.3) | 16/59 (27.1) | 20/64 (31.3) |
| HIV-seropositive or HIV-exposed and receiving PCP prophylaxis |
30/60 (50.0) | 32/60 (53.3) | 39/65 (60.0) |
| Mothers tested | 691/922 (74.9) | 687/921 (74.6) | 689/917 (75.1) |
| HIV-seropositive | 121/688 (17.6) | 131/684 (19.2) | 136/688 (19.8) |
| HIV-seropositive and receiving ART | 49/117 (41.9) | 59/128 (46.1) | 64/129 (49.6) |
| Known HIV infection or exposure — no. (%) | 132 (14.3) | 140 (15.2) | 148 (16.1) |
| Children with kwashiorkor | 82/132 (62.1) | 88/140 (62.9) | 79/148 (53.4) |
| Children with marasmic kwashiorkor | 17/132 (12.9) | 21/140 (15.0) | 30/148 (20.3) |
| Children with marasmus | 33/132 (25.0) | 31/140 (22.1) | 39/148 (26.4) |
| ≥1 infectious symptom in previous 2 wk — no./total no. (%) | 780/924 (84.4) | 772/923 (83.6) | 756/920 (82.2) |
| Fever | 580/908 (63.9) | 561/915 (61.3) | 569/906 (62.8) |
| Cough | 503/917 (54.9) | 470/921 (51.0) | 472/915 (51.6) |
| Diarrhea | 427/918 (46.5) | 445/923 (48.2) | 436/914 (47.7) |
| Good appetite reported — no./total no. (%) | 791/913 (86.6) | 775/916 (84.6) | 780/912 (85.5) |
*
Plus-minus values are means ±SD. Baseline characteristics were similar among the groups except as noted. ART denotes antiretroviral therapy, HIV human immunodeficiency virus, and PCP Pneumocystis jiroveci pneumonia.
†
P<0.05 for the comparison with cefdinir.