A topic in Clinical Evidence 1 summarizes the results of one RCT (n=61) comparing penicillin with or without dicloxacillin versus amoxicillin/amocicillin/clavulanic acid. Treatments were given for 5 days in people bitten less than 8 hours previously or in those without clinical infection (n=34) and for 10 days in those bitten more than 8 hours previously or with clinical infection (n=27). There was no significant difference in failure rate (1/31 (3%) vs 3/30 (10%), RR 0.32, 95% CI 0.03 to 2.54). There were no RCTs comparing antibiotics with placebo. However, there is consensus that they are likely to be beneficial.
Comment: The quality of evidence is downgraded by sparse data.
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Primary/Secondary Keywords