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Penicillin is still the standard therapy for streptococcal pharyngitis, but the multiple dosing required may limit compliance. Amoxicillin has a longer half-life than penicillin and can be given once daily for the same cost. This randomized trial compared the two drugs in 157 patients with culture-proven streptococcal pharyngitis.
About half the patients took penicillin (250 mg three or four times daily) and half took once-daily amoxicillin (50 mg/kg in children and 750 mg in adults). All were followed for at least 14 days.
The two groups showed no difference in the rate of clinical improvement, culture positivity after 2 days of therapy, or number of days lost from work or school. At 14 days, however, patients taking penicillin were more lik…