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Safety and Efficacy of Fidaxomicin and Vancomycin in Children and Adolescents with Clostridioides (Clostridium) difficile Infection: A Phase 3, Multicenter, Randomized, Single-blind Clinical Trial (SUNSHINE)

J. Wolf, K. Kalocsai, C. Fortuny, Ş. Lazăr, S. Bosis, B. Korczowski, A. Petit, D. Bradford et al.

Clinical Infectious Diseases, 2019

148 participants · 75 citations

Abstract

Abstract Background Fidaxomicin, a narrow-spectrum antibiotic approved for Clostridioides (Clostridium) difficile infection (CDI) in adults, is associated with lower rates of recurrence than vancomycin; however, pediatric data are limited. This multicenter, investigator-blind, phase 3, parallel-group trial assessed the safety and efficacy of fidaxomicin in children. Methods Patients aged <18 years with confirmed CDI were randomized 2:1 to 10 days of treatment with fidaxomicin (suspension or tablets, twice daily) or vancomycin (suspension or tablets, 4 times daily). Safety assessments included treatment-emergent adverse events. The primary efficacy end point was confirmed clinical response (CCR), 2 days after the end of treatment (EOT). Secondary end points included global cure (GC; CCR without CDI recurrence) 30 days after EOT (end of study; EOS). Plasma and stool concentrations of fidaxomicin and its active metabolite OP-1118 were measured. Results Of 148 patients randomized, 142 were treated (30 <2 years old). The proportion of participants with treatment-emergent adverse events was similar with fidaxomicin (73.5%) and vancomycin (75.0%). Of 3 deaths in the fidaxomicin arm during the study, none were CDI or treatment related. The rate of CCR at 2 days after EOT was 77.6% (76 of 98 patients) with fidaxomicin and 70.5% (31 of 44) with vancomycin, whereas the rate of GC at EOS was significantly higher in participants receiving fidaxomicin (68.4% vs 50.0%; adjusted treatment…

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Evidence Hub reads this as a randomized trial, done in people. Its evidence level is 2 of 5 (High · randomized trial). Randomized trials of a reasonable size are the strongest single-study design. Reported size: 148 participants or records.

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