A new look at erythromycin

Abstract

This article reviews the current place of erythromycin in antibiotic therapy. Overall, erythromycin is thought to be underused because: (1) the fear of resistance has been exaggerated; (2) significant toxicity has been associated with only one derivative (the estolate); (3) newer antibiotics have very rarely been demonstrated to be superior to erythromycin. Erythromycin has an important place in treating acute upper and lower respiratory tract infections, acute otitis media, sinusitis, skin and soft tissue infections, osteomyelitis, prostatitis, infections due to Mycoplasma spp. and Chlamydia organisms, and infections due to anaerobes.