A multi-centre trial comparing a sulfamethopyrazine/trimethoprim combination with co-trimoxazole in respiratory tract infections.

A double-blind, multi-centre trial was carried out in 72 patients with acute or chronic infections of the lower respiratory tract to compare the efficacy and tolerance of a sulfamethopyrazine (200 mg)/trimethoprim (250 mg) combination with that of the established combination co-trimoxazole (400 mg sulphamethoxazole plus 80 mg trimethoprim). Patients received treatment for 10 days either with 2 capsules of co-trimoxazole twice daily or in the newer combination group with 2 capsules on Day 1 but then only 1 capsule daily for the remainder of the treatment period. The results of clinical, bacteriological and functional tests showed an excellent or good response in over 90% of patients in each group. There was no statistically significant difference in effectiveness of treatment with the once-daily sulfamethopyrazine/trimethoprim regime compared with co-trimoxazole given twice daily, and both treatments were well tolerated, with only a few mild side-effects, mainly gastro-intestinal ones, being reported.