Azidocillin-A New Penicillin Derivative: 1. Clinical Investigation in Treatment of Scarlet Fever

Abstract

The clinical effect of a new penicillin (azidocillin—the potassium salt of 6-d-alpha-azidophenylacetamido-penicillanic acid) was compared with that of penicillin V in a double-blind study on 183 patients with scarlet fever. No decisive difference as to the advantage of either of these preparations could be noticed in this material, which represented a mild form of the disease. Azidocillin eradicated Haemophilus influenzae in a few cases with concomitant infection with this organism, whereas penicillin V did not prevent the emergence of H. influenzae during treatment. There was a distinct relation between upper respiratory tract disease after leaving the hospital and the presence of β-haemolytic streptococci among cases treated with penicillin V, whereas no such correlation was found among those given the new penicillin. Neither in this material of 97 cases nor in a preliminary pilot series, which comprised a further 79 cases, were any side-effects or complications observed which could be ascribed to the new drug.