Treatment of adenotonsillar hypertrophy: A prospective randomized trial comparing azithromycin vs. fluticasone

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy of azithromycin vs. fluticasone in treatment of adenotonsillar hypertrophy (AH). METHODS: In a clinical trial, 39 AH patients were selected using a convenient time-based sequential sampling method. The subjects were randomized into two treatment groups. Patients in group A (fluticasone) and B (azithromycin) were respectively treated with fluticasone spray and azithromycin suspension for a 6-week period. Data regarding the grade of obstruction (based on tonsillar size), level of adenotonsillar hypertrophy, and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) symptoms (including mouth breathing, snoring, hyponasal speech, and sleep apnea) were collected by a self-administrated questionnaire before treatment, as well as 1 week and 8 weeks after treatment. RESULTS: Twenty AH patients in group A and 19 AH patients in group B were studied. AH related symptoms, including mouth breathing, snoring, hyponasal speech and sleep apnea, improved significantly in both groups (p < 0.05). We also found a statistically significant reduced grade of obstruction among patients in both groups. However, fluticasone was not effective on adenotonsillar hypertrophy. One week after treatment, outcomes related to apnea and hyponasal speech were better in group B than group A. Decreases in mouth breathing and snoring were not significantly different between group A and B. CONCLUSIONS: It could explain that though both of the improved and mentioned symptoms comparing within initial status, Azithromycin seems to be more effective than fluticasone in improving AH-related symptoms. Short term efficacy of the antibiotic is much significant than its long term effect.