Three versus Five Days of Azithromycin

A is admitted with CAP. She is started on ceftriaxone and azithromycin 500 mg PO every 24 hours x days.

A colleague asks why not use “Z-pak” dosing (500 mg x 1 then 250 mg every 24 hours x days total)

What do you tell them?

A. Dosing is equivalent

B. Switch to “Z-pak”

C. Don’t know, ask pharmacy

How did others respond?

Reveal the answer

Best Answer

A. Dosing is equivalent

In a retrospective study comparing both azithromycin dosing strategies in patients with atypical pneumonia, ALL PATIENTS were clinically CURED 🎊

Authors concluded that a total cumulative dose of 1500 mg over 3️⃣ or 5️⃣ days was efficacious and tolerable 👍

Pharmacokinetic and clinical data tell us the same thing: there’s more than one way that works when it comes to azithromycin dosing!