Oral ofloxacin once daily and doxycycline in the treatment of acute exacerbations of chronic bronchitis.

192 patients, most of them ambulatory, with acute exacerbation of chronic bronchitis were treated with 10- to 14-day courses of oral ofloxacin receiving 400 mg once daily or doxycycline first 200 mg and then 100 mg once daily in this randomized observer-blinded multicentre study. 98 patients were included in the ofloxacin group and 94 in the doxycycline group. The clinical efficacy was 86/87 (98.8%) in the ofloxacin group and 87/91 (91.2%) in the doxycycline group. The bacteriological efficacy was 31/34 (91.2%) in the ofloxacin group and 19/24 (79.2%) in the doxycycline group. Some patients had more than one pathogen. There was no statistically significant difference in efficacy between the two treatment groups; both treatments were highly effective and well tolerated. The adverse events showed an expected pattern. Ofloxacin treatment was discontinued in three patients. In conclusion, both treatments were found to have similar safety and efficacy and were well tolerated when used for treatment of acute exacerbations of chronic bronchitis.

Pulmonary apical fibrocystic disease. A serologic study.

Common aetiopathogenic factors were sought in 12 patients with progressive pulmonary apical fibrocystic changes, active human-type tuberculosis excluded. HLA-typing did not reveal any clear-cut trends; only the three patients with ankylosing spondylitis or Reiter's disease were HLA-B27 positive. Six patients had HLA-Cw3, which exceeds the prevalence in referents, antibodies, as well as other tissue antibodies, were mainly negative so that autoimmune aetiology is not likely. Similarly, antimicrobial antibodies were found occasionally, while low-titred influenza antibodies were positive in all patients. Serum proteins, immunoglobulins, rheumatoid factor and C-reactive protein were suggestive of chronic inflammation, as were low positive titres of smooth muscle antibodies in nine patients. In spite of the uniform clinical picture and course of the disease, no uniform aetiopathogenic factors were found, but possible unidentified slow- and low-grade viral or fungal infection is discussed.

HLA-antigens and pulmonary upper lobe fibrocystic changes with and without ankylosing spondylitis. A report of seven cases.

Seven patients with remarkably similar progressing pulmonary apical fibrocystic disease are presented. Active tuberculosis was excluded, antituberculous chemotherapy had no effect on the pulmonary lesions. One of the patients had the typical clinical picture of Reiter's syndrome, the other that of ankylosing spondylitis. HLA-antigens were determined in all seven cases, only two patients, one with Reiter's syndrome and another with ankylosing spondylitis, had the HLA-B27 antigen.