Possibility of interaction among antibiotics and mucolytics in children.

A controlled clinical trial in children with acute infections of the lower respiratory tract was carried out to see whether or not treatment with ambroxol could bring about faster and better results. One hundred twenty children with acute lower respiratory tract infections were all given antibiotics plus, at random, either ambroxol (1.5-2.0 mg/kg body weight orally) or a placebo. The duration of the trial was ten days. All the patients in both groups were cured clinically. However, remission of the cough, of the chest pathological signs, as well as the improvement of the lung radiographical pictures were significantly more rapid in children treated with ambroxol than in those who received the antibiotic alone. Ambroxol was tolerated perfectly by all the children.