Six months of azithromycin maintenance therapy reduced the rate of respiratory exacerbations and pathogenic bacterial species in sputum among patients with primary ciliary dyskinesia, researchers reported at the European Respiratory Society International Congress.
Helene Kobbernagel, MD, from the department of pediatrics and adolescent medicine at Copenhagen University Hospital, Denmark, and colleagues conducted a multicenter, double-blind, parallel-group, randomized, placebo-controlled trial of 90 patients aged 7 to 50 years with primary ciliary dyskinesia.
“Primary ciliary dyskinesia is a serious and chronic condition that begins early in life and tends to deteriorate over time,” Kobbernagel said in a press release. “Because it is a rare disease, there is a lack of good evidence on how to treat children and adults to relieve symptoms and prevent longer-term damage.”
