Efficacy and safety of cefditoren pivoxil for exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: A prospective multicenter interventional study.

Oral antibiotic therapy for patients with acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) usually involves an aminopenicillin with clavulanic acid, a macrolide, or a quinolone. To date, however, the clinical efficacy and safety of the oral cephalosporin cefditoren pivoxil has not been evaluated in Japanese patients with acute exacerbations of COPD. We conducted a prospective, multicenter, single arm, interventional study from January 2013 to March 2017 to determine the efficacy and safety of oral administration of 200 mg cefditoren pivoxil three times daily for 7 days in a cohort of 29 eligible patients from 15 hospitals. The mean age (SD) of participants was 73.1 (8.1) years and 28 had a smoking history (the mean [SD] of smoking index, 1426.7 [931.7]). The primary efficacy endpoint was clinical response (cure rate) at test of cure, which was set at 5-10 days after treatment ceased. Of the 23 patients finally analyzed, cure was achieved in 15 (65.2%), while 8 (34.8%) remained uncured. Previous experience of acute exacerbations significantly affected the cure rate: none of the three patients who had at least two prior exacerbations were cured, while 15 of the 20 patients with one or fewer prior exacerbations were cured (p = 0.032). The microbiological eradication rate was 88.9% at test of cure. During treatment, mild pneumonia was reported as an adverse event in one patient (3.4%) but resolved within 10 days of onset. We conclude that cefditoren pivoxil represents a viable alternative for antibiotic therapy in patients with few prior exacerbations.