Cefuroxime, a Beta-Lactamase-Resistant Cephalosporin with a Broad Spectrum of Gram-Positive and -Negative Activity |
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| Authors: | Harold C. Neu and Kwung P. Fu |
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| Affiliation: | 1Departments of Medicine and Pharmacology, College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University, New York, New York 10032 |
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| Abstract: | The in vitro activity of cefuroxime, a cephalosporin antibiotic, was investigated against 604 isolates and compared with the activity of other beta-lactam compounds. Cefuroxime had activity comparable to that of other cephalosporins, including cefamandole and cefoxitin, against streptococcal and staphylococcal species; most streptococci were inhibited by 0.1 mug or less per ml, and staphylococci were inhibited by 1.6 mug or less per ml. Enterococci were relatively resistant. Cefuroxime inhibited beta-lactamase-producing Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Haemophilus influenzae. Cefuroxime had excellent activity against members of the Enterobacteriaceae; 83% of beta-lactamase-producing Escherichea coli, 100% of Salmonella, 100% of Klebsiella, 90% of Proteus mirabilis, 95% of Citrobacter, 56% of Enterobacter, and 58% of Shigella were inhibited by 12.5 mug/ml. Cefuroxime had activity comparable to that of cefamandole and cefoxitin; it inhibited isolates of E. coli and Klebsiella resistant to cefamandole and inhibited Enterobacter and Citrobacter resistant to cefoxitin. Many isolates of Serratia, some indole-positive strains of Proteus, and Bacteroides fragilis were resistant to cefuroxime. Resistance of cefuroxime to hydrolysis by beta-lactamases played a major role in its activity against both gram-positive and gram-negative organisms. |
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