The results of the review were as follows:
The overall weighted efficacy rate was 0.891 for sparfloxacin, 0.690 for erythromycin, 0.708 for amoxicillin-clavulanic acid, 0.778 for clarithromycin, 0.730 for cefaclor, and 0.794 for azithromycin.
The probability of switching to secondary outpatient antibiotic treatment after initial failure was 0.882 for the outpatient group I and 0.661 for the outpatient group II.
The probability of admitting patients to the hospital after treatment failure was 0.118 in patient group I and 0.339 for patients in group II.
The proportion of hospitalisation resulting in admission to an intensive care unit (ICU) was 6.1% in group I and 20.9% in group II.
The rest of the patients in each group (93.3% and 79.1%, respectively) were admitted to a regular medical floor.
The survival rate was 89.7% in ICU and 94.6% on general medical floor.