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Impact of dirithromycin on the normal oral and intestinal microflora

  • New Antimicrobial Agents
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Abstract

Twenty healthy volunteers received 500 mg of dirithromycin orally once daily for seven days. The concentrations of dirithromycin in serum and saliva were low (≤1.5 mg/l), while the faecal concentrations were high (≥12 mg/kg). The numbers of streptococci,Haemophilus andNeisseria increased in the aerobic oral microflora during dirithromycin treatment. In the aerobic intestinal microflora, the numbers of enterobacteria decreased significantly, while streptococci and staphylococci increased. New colonizing dirithromycin resistant enterobacteria were isolated during and after treatment. The anaerobic intestinal microflora was also affected; thus the numbers of gram-positive cocci, bifidobacteria, eubacteria and bacteroides decreased, while the numbers of clostridia and lactobacilli increased. Dirithromycin has an ecological impact on the oral and intestinal microflora.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Professional Medical Consultants, Drug Study Unit, S-751 83, Uppsala, Sweden

    S. A. Eckernäs & A. Grahnén

  2. Department of Microbiology, Huddinge University Hospital, Karolinska Institute, S-141 86, Huddinge, Sweden

    C. E. Nord

  3. National Bacteriological Laboratory, S-105 21, Stockholm, Sweden

    C. E. Nord

Authors
  1. S. A. Eckernäs
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  2. A. Grahnén
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  3. C. E. Nord
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Eckernäs, S.A., Grahnén, A. & Nord, C.E. Impact of dirithromycin on the normal oral and intestinal microflora. Eur. J. Clin. Microbiol. Infect. Dis. 10, 688–692 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01975827

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01975827

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