Cepacin A and cepacin B, two new antibiotics produced by Pseudomonas cepacia

Two new acetylenic antibiotics, cepacins A and B, have been isolated from the fermentation broth of Pseudomonas cepacia SC 11,783 and assigned structures 1 and 2. Cepacin A has good activity against staphylococci (MIC 0.2 micrograms/ml) but weak activity against streptococci (MIC 50 micrograms/ml) and the majority of Gram-negative organisms (MIC values 6.3 approximately greater than 50 micrograms/ml). Cepacin B has excellent activity against staphylococci (MIC less than 0.05 micrograms/ml) and some Gram-negative organisms (MIC values 0.1 approximately greater than 50 micrograms/ml).     

Susceptibility of clinical isolates to aztreonam

In vitro antibacterial activities of 9 antibiotics including aztreonam (AZT) against clinically isolated Gram-negative bacteria were determined using MIC-2000 plus system. Bacteria were isolated from clinical materials in Saga Medical School during a period from May 1987 to March 1988. Summarized results were as follows: 1. AZT showed excellent antibacterial activities against Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Proteus sp. and Haemophilus influenzae, and MIC80 values of AZT against these organisms were lower than 0.20 microgram/ml. 2. Antibacterial activities of AZT were superior to cephem antibiotics compared against Enterobacter aerogenes, Enterobacter cloacae, Citrobacter freundii and Serratia marcescens. 3. The MIC50 and MIC80 of AZT against Pseudomonas aeruginosa were 12.5 micrograms/ml and 25 micrograms/ml, respectively. 4. AZT did not show any antibacterial activity against Acinetobacter sp. and Xanthomonas maltophilia.     

Comparative studies on activities of antimicrobial agents against causative organisms isolated from urinary tract infections (1986). I. Susceptibility distribution

Susceptibilities to various antibacterial and antibiotic agents of bacterial strains isolated from urinary tract infections at 8 hospitals in Japan from July to October in 1986 are summarized as follows. 1. Enterococcus faecalis was susceptible to sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim (ST) and imipenem (IPM) with MIC90s of 0.78 and 1.56 microgram/ml. Minocycline had the strongest activity against Staphylococcus aureus; the MICs for all strains tested were lower than 0.39 microgram/ml. The MIC80s of dicloxacillin, and arbekacin (HBK) were 0.20 and 0.78 microgram/ml, respectively. Among the cephems, the MIC80 of flomoxef was 25 micrograms/ml, whereas those of cefmenoxime (CMX) and cefotiam (CTM) were 50 micrograms/ml. 2. Escherichia coli was most susceptible to ofloxacin (OFLX) among the oral antibacterial and antibiotic agents tested. OFLX showed the minimum inhibitory concentration against 90% (MIC90) of the 274 strains of E. coli tested to be lower than 0.10 microgram/ml. The antibacterial activities of the third generation cephems such as CMX and latamoxef (LMOX) were the strongest among the injectable antibiotics tested. The MIC90s of CMX and LMOX were lower than 0.10 and 0.20 microgram/ml, respectively. CTM and cefmetazole, the second generation cephems, were also highly active against E. coli with MIC90s of 0.39 and 1.56 micrograms/ml, respectively. 3. Among the oral antibacterial and antibiotic agents tested, OFLX was the most active against Klebsiella pneumoniae. Its MIC90 was 0.78 microgram/ml. Among the injectable antibiotics tested, CMX was the strongest with an MIC90 of 0.20 microgram/ml; MIC90 of CTM and LMOX were 0.39 microgram/ml. 4. The tested antibacterial and antibiotic agents were generally less active against Citrobacter freundii than against other bacteria. The MIC80 of OFLX was 0.39 microgram/ml. Gentamicin (GM) and ST were slightly active against C. freundii. Among the cephems, CMX had the MIC80 of 25 micrograms/ml. 5. Enterobacter cloacae was less susceptible to the cephems tested. OFLX, GM, and mecillinam were active against this bacteria with MIC80s of 0.78, 0.78 and 1.56 micrograms/ml, respectively. 6. Among the oral antibacterial and antibiotic agents and penicillins examined, piperacillin (PIPC) was the most active against Proteus mirabilis. Its MIC90 was 0.39 microgram/ml. Those of sulbenicillin, cefaclor, ampicillin, OFLX, and ST were 0.78, 0.78, 1.56, 3.13 and 3.13 micrograms/ml, respectively. CMX was highly active against P. mirabilis with an MIC90 of less than or equal to 0.10 microgram/ml; LMOX followed with an MIC90 of 0.20 microgram/ml among the injectable antibiotics tested. CTM was also active against this bacterium; the MIC90 was 0.39 microgram/ml. 7. The antibacterial and antibiotic agents were generally only slightly active against Proteus vulgaris.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)     

Comparative studies on activities of antimicrobial agents against causative organisms isolated from patients with urinary tract infections (2000). I. Susceptibility distribution

The bacterial strains isolated from patients diagnosed as having urinary tract infections (UTIs) in 10 institutions in Japan were supplied between the period of August 2000 and July 2001. Then, the susceptibilities of them to many kinds of antimicrobial agents were investigated. The number of them were 511 strains. The breakdown of these strains was Gram-positive bacteria as 29.0% and Gram-negative bacteria as 71.0%. Susceptibilities of these bacteria to antimicrobial agents were as follows; vancomycin (VCM), ampicillin (ABPC) and imipenem (IPM) showed strong activities against Enterococcus faecalis. No increase in low-susceptible strains of E. faecalis observed against these antimicrobial agents. VCM showed a strong activity against MRSA preventing growth of all strains with 1 microgram/ml. In addition, the activity of arbekacin (ABK) was strong with the MIC90 of 2 micrograms/ml against MRSA and prevented growth of all strains with 4 micrograms/ml. ABK showed a strong activity against Staphylococcus epidermidis preventing growth of all strains with 0.5 microgram/ml. ABPC, cefotiam (CTM) and cefozopran (CZOP) also showed a relatively strong activity against S. epidermidis (MIC90: 4 to 8 micrograms/ml). Against Escherichia coli, carbapenems showed high activities: meropenem (MEPM) prevented growth of all strains within 0.125 microgram/ml; IPM prevented growth of all strains with 0.25 microgram/ml. CZOP and CTM also showed strong activities against E. coli: MIC90 of CZOP was within 0.125 microgram/ml; MIC80 and MIC90 of CTM were 0.25 and 0.5 microgram/ml, respectively. Quinolone resistant E. coli was detected at frequency of 14.0%, which was significantly higher than that in the last year. Almost all drugs showed strong activities against Klebsiella pneumoniae and Proteus mirabilis, and MEPM prevented growth of all strains within 0.125 microgram/ml. Against Pseudomonas aeruginosa, almost drugs were not so active. The MIC90 of carbapenems and gentamicin (GM) were 16 micrograms/ml and those of all other drugs were more than 32 micrograms/ml. Against Serratia marcescens, the MIC90 of IPM and GM were the lowest value being 2 micrograms/ml, and that of MEPM was 4 micrograms/ml.     

Evaluation of antibiotics by the method of initial bactericidal activity

Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) has been generally used to evaluate the activity of antimicrobial agents. However, there is some discrepancy between clinical efficacy and the MIC value. We studied the relationship between initial bactericidal activity of imipenem (IPM), panipenem (PAPM), meropenem (MEPM), ceftazidime (CAZ) and amikacin (AMK) and the respective MIC values against Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1. Initial bactericidal activity was defined as percent reduction of initial bacterial cell concentration (10(6) cells/ml) after 1 hour incubation following addition of antibiotic. The concentration of antibiotic used in this experiment was the blood level of each antibiotic at 3 hours after administration by drip infusion of the usual dose (IPM, PAPM and CAZ were 1 g for 1 hour drip infusion, MEPM was 1 g for 0.5 hours drip infusion and AMK was 200 mg for 1 hour drip infusion, respectively). The antibiotic concentration of IPM, PAPM, MEPM, CAZ and AMK were 8.77 micrograms/ml, 6.37 micrograms/ml, 4.12 micrograms/ml, 12.0 micrograms/ml and 5.18 micrograms/ml, respectively. MICs of IPM, PAPM, MEPM, CAZ and AMK were 2 micrograms/ml, 64 micrograms/ml, 1 microgram/ml, 1 microgram/ml and 2 micrograms/ml, respectively. Initial bactericidal activity of IPM, PAPM, MEPM, and CAZ against P. aeruginosa PAO1 was 98.2%, 86.1%, 48.1%, and 43.4% reduction in bacterial concentration, respectively. AMK shows the strongest initial bactericidal activity with more than 99.9%. The killing speed of IPM was obviously the most rapid among the three carbapenems. The MIC of PAPM was significantly higher than the other antibiotics, and the initial bactericidal activity of PAPM was second to IPM. We can classify antibiotics into two groups based on initial bactericidal activity against P. aeruginosa; one class is antibiotics having rapid initial killing such as AMK, IPM and PAPM, the other is CAZ, MEPM showing slow initial killing.     

Comparative studies on activities of antimicrobial agents against causative organisms isolated from patients with urinary tract infections (1997). I. Susceptibility distribution

The frequencies of isolation and susceptibilities to antimicrobial agents were investigated on 560 bacterial strains isolated from patients with urinary tract infections (UTIs) in 9 hospitals during the period of June 1997 to May 1998. Of the above bacterial isolates, Gram-positive bacteria accounted for 29.3% and a majority of them were Enterococcus faecalis. Gram-negative bacteria accounted for 70.7% and most of them were Escherichia coli. Susceptibilities of several isolated bacteria to antimicrobial agents were as followed; 1. Enterococcus faecalis Ampicillin (ABPC) showed the highest activity against E. faecalis isolated from patients with UTIs. Its MIC90 was 1 microgram/ml. Imipenem (IPM) and vancomycin (VCM) were also active with the MIC90s of 2 micrograms/ml. The others had low activities with the MIC90s of 16 micrograms/ml or above. 2. Staphylococcus aureus including MRSA VCM and arbekacin (ABK) showed the highest activities against both S. aureus and MRSA isolated from patients with UTIs. The MIC90s of them were 1 microgram/ml. The others except minocycline (MINO) had low activities with the MIC90s of 32 micrograms/ml or above. More than a half of S. aureus strains (including MRSA) showed high susceptibilities to gentamicin (GM) and MINO, the MIC50s of 0.25 microgram/ml or 0.5 microgram/ml. 3. Enterobacter cloacae IPM showed the highest activity against E. cloacae. The MICs for all strains were equal to or lower than 1 microgram/ml. The MIC90s of ciprofloxacin (CPFX) and tosufloxacin (TFLX) were 1 microgram/ml, the MIC90s of amikacin (AMK) and ofloxacin (OFLX) were 4 micrograms/ml, the MIC90 of GM was 16 micrograms/ml. Among E. cloacae strains, those with low susceptibilities to quinolones have decreased in 1997, compared with those in 1996. But the other drugs were not so active in 1997 as 1996. 4. Escherichia coli All drugs except penicillins were active against E. coli with the MIC90s of 8 micrograms/ml or below. Particularly, flomoxef (FMOX), cefmenoxime (CMX), cefpirome (CPR), cefozopran (CZOP), IPM, CPFX and TFLX showed the highest activities against E. coli with the MIC90s of 0.125 microgram/ml or below. 5. Klebsiella pneumoniae K. pneumoniae was susceptible to almost all the drugs except penicillins. Carumonam (CRMN) had the strongest activity with the MICs for all strains equal to or lower than 0.125 microgram/ml. FMOX, CPR, CZOP, CPFX and TFLX were also active with the MIC90s of 0.125 microgram/ml or below. The MIC90s of quinolones had changed into a better state in 1997, compared with those in 1996. 6. Proteus mirabilis Almost all the drugs except ABPC and MINO showed high activities against P. mirabilis. CMX, ceftazidime (CAZ), latamoxef (LMOX), CPR, cefixime (CFIX), cefpodoxime (CPDX) and CRMN showed the highest activities against P. mirabilis. The MICs of them for all strains were equal to or lower than 0.125 microgram/ml. CPFX and TFLX were also active with the MIC90s of 0.125 microgram/ml or below. 7. Pseudomonas aeruginosa The MIC90 of GM was 8 micrograms/ml, the MIC90s of AMK, IPM and meropenem (MEPM) were 16 micrograms/ml. The others were not so active against P. aeruginosa with the MIC90s of 32 micrograms/ml or above. The MIC90s of quinolones had changed into a lower state in 1997, compared with those in 1996. 8. Serratia marcescens IPM showed the highest activity against S. marcescens. Its MIC90 was 2 micrograms/ml. GM was also active with the MIC90 of 4 micrograms/ml. The MIC90s of the others were 16 micrograms/ml or above. The MIC50s of CRMN was 0.125 microgram/ml or below, the MIC50s of CPR and CZOP were 0.25 microgram/ml.     

In vitro antibacterial activity of prulifloxacin,a new oral fluoroquinolone

We compared antibacterial activity of NM394, which is the active metabolite of a prodrug of new fluoroquinolone prulifloxacin (PUFX), against clinical isolates of bacteria with those of ciprofloxacin (CPFX), levofloxacin (LVFX), gatifloxacin (GFLX), tosufloxacin (TFLX) and fleroxacin (FLRX). 1. NM394 showed a broad-spectrum antibacterial activity against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. 2. MIC80 of NM394 for methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pneumoniae and Enterococcus faecalis were 0.5 microgram/ml, 2 micrograms/ml and 4 micrograms/ml, respectively. MIC80 of NM394 for Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Enterobacter cloacae was lower than 0.06 microgram/ml. MIC80 of NM394 for Serratia marcescens and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were 0.25 microgram/ml and 2 micrograms/ml, respectively. 3. Short-time bactericidal activity of NM394 against P. aeruginosa was stronger than those of CPFX, GFLX, LVFX and TFLX. 4. Short-time bactericidal activity of NM394 at Cmax concentration against 12 strains of P. aeruginosa was stronger than those of CPFX, LVFX, GFLX and TFLX.     

In vitro antibacterial activity of prulifloxacin, a new oral quinolone, and comparative susceptibility rate at clinical breakpoint MIC

In vitro drug sensitivity of clinically isolated bacteria against prulifloxacin (PUFX), which is a new quinolone, was investigated, and the antibacterial activity and susceptibility rate at clinical breakpoint were compared with those of norfloxacin, ofloxacin (OFLX), ciprofloxacin, tosufloxacin, fleroxacin, sparfloxacin and levofloxacin (LVFX). The following results were obtained. 1) PUFX showed a broad-spectrum antibacterial activity against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. 2) MIC80 of PUFX was 0.25 and 1 microgram/ml, against methicillin susceptible Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pneumoniae, respectively and below 0.125 microgram/ml against Gram-negative Enterobacteriaceae. MIC90 of PUFX against Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which has MIC not exceeding 4 micrograms/ml to OFLX, was 0.5 microgram/ml. 3) PUFX was judged as active against the bacteria under the criteria proposed presented by "the Sensitivity Determination Committee for Antibiotics, Japan Society of Chemotherapy: Break Point for Respiratory Infectious Diseases and Sepsis". It is suggested that the sensitivity of each bacterial species to PUFX was high. 4) From the correlation analysis of MIC, PUFX was shown to have two to eight times higher antibacterial acitivity than LVFX for Citrobacter freundii, Serratia marcescens and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. 5) PUFX showed potent short-time bactericidal activity against S. aureus and P. aeruginosa.     

In vitro and in vivo activities of panipenem against penicillin-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae

Efficacy of panipenem/betamipron (PAPM/BP) against experimental pneumonia caused by penicillin-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae (PRSP: MIC of benzylpenicillin, > or = 1.56 micrograms/ml) in mice was compared with those of imipenem/cilastatin (IPM/CS), meropenem (MEPM), cefozopran (CZOP), ceftriaxone (CTRX), ampicillin (ABPC), and vancomycin (VCM). The infection was induced by inoculating a PRSP clinical isolate, 9601 (serotype 6) or 10,693 (serotype 19), into ddY male mice intranasally. Drugs were administered subcutaneously at doses of 0.4, 2, and 10 mg/kg, 18, 26, 42, and 50 hours post-infection. Viable cell counts in the lungs were determined 66 hours post-infection. PAPM/BP showed the greatest efficacy against the infections among tested drugs. MICs of PAPM against PRSP 9601 and 10,693 were both 0.125 microgram/ml, which were superior to those of IPM (0.25 and 0.5 microgram/ml, respectively), MEPM (0.5 and 1 microgram/ml, respectively), CZOP (2 and 1 microgram/ml, respectively), CTRX (both 1 microgram/ml), ABPC (both 4 micrograms/ml), and VCM (0.5 and 0.25 microgram/ml, respectively). These results suggest that the potent in vivo activity of PAPM/BP reflects the potent in vitro activity of PAPM. MICs of PAPM, IPM, MEPM, and CZOP against clinical isolates, penicillin-susceptible S. pneumoniae (PSSP: MIC of benzylpenicillin, < or = 0.05 microgram/ml), penicillin-intermediate S. pneumoniae (PISP: MIC of benzylpenicillin, 0.1-0.78 microgram/ml), and PRSP, were tested by an agar dilution method. MIC90s of the drugs against the PSSP, PISP, and PRSP were as follows: PAPM, 0.012, 0.05, and 0.39 microgram/ml; IPM, < or = 0.006, 0.1, and 0.78 microgram/ml; MEPM, 0.05, 0.39, and 1.56 micrograms/ml; and CZOP, 0.2, 0.78, and 6.25 micrograms/ml, respectively. Thus, PAPM showed the most potent activity among tested drugs against clinical isolates of PISP and PRSP.     

Clinical laboratory approach to estimating the effective administration dose of imipenem/cilastatin. Evaluation of the disk susceptibility test and its interpretation system

In vitro activities of imipenem/cilastatin (IPM/CS) against 413 clinical isolates were studied through the evaluation of MICs and the results of disk susceptibility tests. The MICs were determined using the agar dilution method at an inoculum level of 10(6) CFU/ml. The MIC80s of imipenem (IPM) against Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis were 25 and 1.56 micrograms/ml, respectively, showing a bimodal MIC distribution. However, the distribution of MICs against other bacteria studied was of monomodal pattern. Group A Streptococcus, Enterococcus faecalis were inhibited by IPM at dose levels less than 0.025 and 6.25 micrograms/ml, respectively. IPM inhibited Escherichia coli at 0.20 microgram/ml, Klebsiella pneumoniae at 0.39 microgram/ml, Pseudomonas aeruginosa at 3.13 micrograms/ml except one strain showed a MIC of 25 micrograms/ml, Serratia spp. at 3.13 micrograms/ml except one with MIC greater than 100 micrograms/ml, Citrobacter freundii at 0.78 microgram/ml and Enterobacter spp. at 0.39 microgram/ml. Indole (-) Proteus and indole (+) Proteus were inhibited by this drug at levels of 3.13 and 1.56 micrograms/ml, respectively. The reliability of the IPM disk diffusion susceptibility test in quantitative estimation of antimicrobial activities was well demonstrated using commercialized 8 mm diameter Showa disks containing 30 micrograms antibiotic and also disks containing 1-30 micrograms prepared in this laboratory. For the interpretation of the Showa disk susceptibility test, a 4 category system was used. In the 4 category system for Showa IPM disk the following classification of inhibitory zone diameters has been proposed; ( ) MIC less than or equal to 3 micrograms/ml, (++) MIC greater than 3-15 micrograms/ml, (+) MIC greater than 15-60 micrograms/ml, (-) MIC greater than 60 micrograms/ml. The results of the test using Showa 30 micrograms disk against various clinical isolates were accurately classified into the 4 groups, showing false positive 8 out of 304 strains (2.6%) and false negative 1 of 304 strains (0.3%). With Showa 30 micrograms disks subclassification of strains with MIC less than 3 micrograms/ml cannot be achieved. In this study, however, the differentiation of strains with MICs less than 1 microgram/ml was made with disks containing 5-10 micrograms, which afforded to set MIC break points at 1 and 3 micrograms/ml. According to current concepts on pharmacokinetics for antibiotics including the penetration of drugs into tissues and inflammatory fluids, serum protein binding of drugs appears to be one of the important determinants of drug distribution in the body. Only free, unbound drug molecules can readily pass through capillary pores into tissue fluids except in the hepato-biliary system.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)     

In vitro antibacterial activity and beta-lactamase stability of cefodizime, a new cephalosporin antibiotic

The in vitro activity and beta-lactamase stability of cefodizime (HR 221), a new cephalosporin, were compared with those of other cephem antibiotics. HR 221 was highly active against Gram-negative bacteria. The compound inhibited growth of all tested Haemophilus influenzae strains at 0.10 microgram/ml and showed strong activity even against penicillin-resistant Neisseria gonorrhoeae strains, but it was less effective against Pseudomonas aeruginosa than the other antibiotics tested. Against Gram-positive bacteria, HR 221 showed 100% inhibition of growth of Streptococcus pneumoniae at 0.39 microgram/ml, and it was slightly less active against Staphylococcus aureus (MIC90:12.5 micrograms/ml) than other antibiotics such as cefotaxime (CTX). The bactericidal activity of HR 221 against E. coli was dose-related and comparable to that of CTX, cefoperazone and latamoxef. The bactericidal activity of the compound at medium concentrations simulating human serum levels was higher than that of CTX and cefmetazole, and no cell regrowth was noted after beta-lactamase-induced inactivation of the compound. HR 221 was stable to most drug-inactivating enzyme preparations from various bacterial species.     

Comparative studies on activities of antimicrobial agents against causative organisms isolated from urinary tract infections (1985). I. Susceptibility distribution

The results of determinations of sensitivities of bacterial strains to various antibiotics are summarized as follows: 1. Against Escherichia coli, ofloxacin (OFLX) showed the strongest activity among oral antibacterial and antibiotic agents. Its MIC90 was below 0.10 micrograms/ml. The next strongest activity was found in mecillinam (MPC), cefaclor (CCL) and pipemidic acid (PPA); MIC90's of these agents 3.13 micrograms/ml. Cefotiam (CTM), cefotaxime (CTX), ceftizoxime (CZX), cefmenoxime (CMX) and latamoxef (LMOX) had MIC90 below 0.39 micrograms/ml. MIC90's of cefmetazole (CMZ) and cefoperazone (CPZ) were 1.56 micrograms/ml. Aztreonam (AZT) and carumonam (CRMN) in the monobactam group showed strong activities with MIC90's at 0.20 micrograms/ml. 2. Although Klebsiella pneumoniae had a strong resistance to ampicillin (ABPC) and showed relatively low sensitivities to other oral antibacterial and antibiotic agents, OFLX maintained high activity against this species and showed MIC90 of 0.39 micrograms/ml. Among injectable antibiotics, third generation cephems showed the strongest activity to this species with MIC90 of CZX below 0.10 micrograms/ml, of CTX and CMX 0.20 micrograms/ml, and of LMOX 0.78 micrograms/ml. MIC90 of CPZ was 6.25 micrograms/ml, which was the same as those of cefazolin (CEZ) and cefoxitin (CFX). CTM had similar MIC90 to LMOX, namely, 1.56 micrograms/ml. MIC90 of CMZ was 3.13 micrograms/ml. Monobactams AZT and CRMN showed strong activities to this species; their MIC90's were below 0.10 micrograms/ml and 0.20 micrograms/ml. 3. Although Citrobacter freundii generally exhibited low sensitivities to antibacterial and antibiotic agents examined, it showed high sensitivity to OFLX, at MIC80 of 0.78 micrograms/ml. This species showed low sensitivities to MPC, nalidixic acid (NA), PPA, and sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim (ST). Among injectable antibiotics, LMOX and CMX had activities against this species; namely, MIC80's were 6.25 and 3.13 micrograms/ml, respectively. Among monobactams, AZT showed MIC80 of 12.5 micrograms/ml, and CRMN had that of 6.25 micrograms/ml. 4. Against Enterobacter cloacae, the strongest antibacterial activity was found with OFLX which had MIC90 of 0.39 micrograms/ml. A relatively strong activity was seen with MPC. MIC80 of MPC was 1.56 micrograms/ml. Except to CTM, this species had poor sensitivities to injectable first and second generation cephems, and their MIC80's were over 200 micrograms/ml. MIC80 of CTM was 25 micrograms/ml.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)     

In vitro activities of levofloxacin and other antibiotics against fresh clinical isolates

In this study, the in vitro activity of levofloxacin (LVFX) against 1,020 fresh bacterial clinical isolates was compared with the activities of a range of ofloxacin, ciprofloxacin (CPFX), ampicillin (ABPC), cefaclor, cefpodoxime, methicillin and benzylpenicillin. The clinical isolates except Vibrio cholerae were collected in Japan during 1998 from patients with infectious diseases. MICs were determined using the agar dilution method according to the recommendations by the Japan Society of Chemotherapy. Some isolates of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and coagulase negative Staphylococcus were resistant to fluoroquinolones, but the MIC50 of LVFX against MRSA was 6.25 micrograms/ml. LVFX was the most active against MRSA among the antibiotics tested. Most of Staphylococcus epidermidis strains were susceptible to the fluoroquinolones. LVFX showed greater activity against all streptococci strains compared with fluoroquinolones tested. In particular, all Streptococcus pneumoniae strains including PRSP were susceptible to LVFX at < or = 1.56 micrograms/ml. Among Enterococcus, ABPC showed superior activity against Enterococcus faecalis but many isolates of Enterococcus species were resistant to ABPC. LVFX was more active against to these Enterococcus species compared with other fluoroquinolones. On the other hand, LVFX and CPFX showed similar activity against isolates of Enterobacteriaceae. CPFX had an MIC50/90 of 0.20, 0.39 microgram/ml and LVFX showed an MIC50/90 of 0.78, 1.56 micrograms/ml against Pseudomonas aeruginosa. LVFX (MIC50/90 0.10, 0.20 microgram/ml) was more active against Acinetobacter species than CPFX (MIC50/90 0.10, 0.39 microgram/ml). Haemophilus influenzae, Branhamella (Moraxella) catarrhalis and V. cholerae were inhibited by low concentration of the fluoroquinolones tested. The MIC90 of LVFX and CPFX were < or = 0.10 microgram/ml against above three species. Some isolates of Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Campylobacter species were moderately resistant to the fluoroquinolones tested but the MIC50 of LVFX and CPFX were < or = 0.39 microgram/ml. Among anaerobes, Propionibacterium acnes was more susceptible than Peptostreptococcus species, and the MIC90 of beta-lactams and fluoroquinolones tested were < or = 0.78 microgram/ml. In conclusion, this study, performed on large number of strains, confirmed an excellent and wide spectrum antibacterial activity of LVFX compared with the fluoroquinolones and beta-lactams tested. And our results suggest that LVFX may be useful in the treatment of various bacterial infections.     

Bacteriological, pharmacokinetic and clinical studies on a rokitamycin dry syrup in the pediatric field

Bacteriological, pharmacokinetic and clinical studies were done on the effect of rokitamycin (RKM, TMS-19-Q) in the field of pediatrics. The results are summarized below. 1. Antibacterial activities Antibacterial activities of RKM against Staphylococcus aureus (including 50 methicillin-sensitive and 50 methicillin-resistant strains), 18 strains of Haemophilus influenzae and 50 strains of Campylobacter jejuni were studied comparatively with activities of josamycin (JM), midecamycin (MDM), erythromycin (EM) and cefaclor (CCL) or ampicillin. Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of the 5 antibiotics against methicillin-sensitive S. aureus showed a wide variation but RKM was somewhat superior among them. MIC80 of those antibiotics tested against methicillin-sensitive S. aureus were as follows; RKM 1.56, JM 12.5, MDM 12.5, EM 6.25, and CCL 3.13 micrograms/ml. Among methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA), ratios of strains highly resistant to these antibiotics (MIC greater than or equal to 100 micrograms/ml) to total number of strains tested were: 18% to RKM, and 26%, 34% and 48% to JM, MDM and EM, respectively, again showing the superiority of RKM and the proliferation of resistant organisms to EM. MICs of RKM against H. influenzae were distributed in a range between 0.78 and 12.5 micrograms/ml, which were similar to MIC range of CCL, and approximately twice as high as that of EM, but 4 folds lower than those of JM and MDM. Against C. jejuni, the MIC range of RKM was quite broad, 0.10-12.5 micrograms/ml, with a peak value of 0.20 micrograms/ml. The cumulative number of strains vs. MIC curve was similar to that of EM, and RKM was approximately 4 to 8 folds more effective than the other 3 antibiotics. 2. Absorption and excretion The absorption and the excretion of RKM were studied with its dry syrup preparations. Dose levels examined were 5 mg/kg in 2 cases, 10 mg/kg in 7 cases, 15 mg/kg in 2 cases and 20 mg/kg in 1 case. Peak concentrations of RKM in blood were not dose-dependent and were 0.16-0.23, 0.29-0.91, 0.35-0.46 microgram/ml and 0.53 microgram/ml, respectively, for the 4 dose levels. Most of drug levels dropped below the detection limit in 4 hours after the administration when dose levels up to 10 mg/kg were used, and when dose levels were at or above 15 mg/kg, 0.07-0.09 microgram/ml of RKM was detected in blood at 6 hours after the administration. Urinary recovery rates in 6 hours were between 0.19 and 3.31%.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)     

Clinical laboratory approach for estimating effective administrative dose of cefoperazone. Evaluation of disc susceptibility test and its interpretation system

To interpret of the cefoperazone (CPZ) disc susceptibility test, a 4 category system is used in Japan, but a 3 category system is used in the U.S.A. and Europe. In the 4 category interpretation system of Showa CPZ disc the following classification is used: ( ) MIC less than or equal to 3 micrograms/ml, (++) MIC greater than 3 approximately 15 micrograms/ml, (+) MIC greater than 15 approximately 60 micrograms/ml, (-) MIC greater than 60 micrograms/ml. In the 3 category system the classification used is as follows: susceptible MIC less than or equal to 16 micrograms/ml, moderately susceptible MIC greater than 16 approximately 32 micrograms/ml, resistant MIC greater than 32 micrograms/ml, or susceptible MIC less than or equal to 32 micrograms/ml, moderately susceptible MIC greater than 32 approximately 64 micrograms/ml, resistant MIC greater than 64 micrograms/ml, depending on dose levels, 1 or 2 g. Reliability of the CPZ disc susceptibility test in estimating approximate MICs by classifying the test results into 4 categories was studied using discs containing 1, 2, 5, 10, 30 and 75 micrograms. The MICs were determined using the agar dilution method at an inoculum level of 10(6) CFU/ml. A good negative correlation was observed between inhibitory zone diameters and MICs, showing reliability of the test using these discs. The results obtained with discs containing 30 or 75 micrograms of CPZ were well categorized into the 4 groups mentioned above. Some strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Enterococcus faecalis, however, showed false positive results. When different break points of inhibitory zone diameters than those used for other bacteria were used for P. aeruginosa, and E. faecalis was excluded from the test, an excellent correlations were obtained. With 30 or 75 micrograms discs, it was unable to subclassify strains against which MICs of CPZ were below 3 micrograms/ml. However, with discs containing 1 to 10 micrograms, it was possible to separate the strains against which MICs were less than 0.5 microgram/ml. The fact that most frequent values of MICs of CPZ against Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Proteus spp., Haemophilus influenzae, Streptococcus pyogenes etc. were less than 0.5 microgram/ml supports the usefulness of low dose discs. According to recently ongoing concepts on the pharmacokinetics of antibiotics and their penetration into tissues and inflammatory fluids, serum protein binding appear to be one of the important determinants of drug distribution in the body. Only free, unbound drug molecules can readily pass through capillary pores into tissue fluids except into hepatic biliary system.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)     

In vitro and in vivo activities of cefpodoxime proxetil against penicillin-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae

We evaluated in vitro and in vivo activities of cefpodoxime proxetil (CPDX-PR) in comparison with other oral beta-lactams, cefdinir (CFDN), cefditoren pivoxil (CDTR-PI), and faropenem (FRPM), against penicillin-susceptible and -resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae. In vitro activities (MICs) of CPDX, CFDN, CDTR, and FRPM against clinical isolates, penicillin-susceptible S. pneumoniae (PSSP: MIC of penicillin G, < or = 0.063 microgram/ml), penicillin-intermediate S. pneumoniae (PISP: MIC of penicillin G, 0.125-1 microgram/ml), and penicillin-resistant S. pneumoniae (PRSP: MIC of penicillin G, > or = 2 micrograms/ml), were tested by an agar dilution method. The MIC80s of CPDX against 27 PSSP strains, 23 PISP strains, and 23 PRSP strains were 0.032, 1, and 8 micrograms/ml, respectively, which were superior to or equal to those of CFDN (0.063, 4, and 8 micrograms/ml) and were inferior to those of CDTR (0.016, 0.5, and 1 microgram/ml) and FRPM (< or = 0.008, 0.25, and 1 microgram/ml). Infection was induced in mice by inoculating with a PRSP clinical isolate, 9605 or 9601 (serotype 6), or 10692 (serotype 19), through the nares of male ddY mice into the lungs. The mice were treated with drugs with doses of 2-50 mg/kg at 18, 26, 42, and 50 hours after the infection. Viable cell numbers in the lungs and blood were assayed at 66 hours after the infection. The efficacy of each drug was dose-dependent. CPDX-PR showed the most potent in vivo efficacy among the drugs tested against the infections caused by the PRSP strains. MICs of the drugs against PRSP 9605, 9601, and 10692 were as follows: CPDX, 4, 4 and 2 micrograms/ml; CFDN, 16, 16, and 4 micrograms/ml; CDTR, 1, 1, and 0.5 microgram/ml; and FRPM, 1, 0.5, and 0.5 microgram/ml, respectively. Thus, CPDX-PR showed a stronger in vivo activity than that expected from the MICs of CPDX. This was probably caused by the pharmacokinetic advantage of CPDX over the other drugs used in this study.     

Clinical laboratory approach for estimating effective administrative dose of cefuzonam. Evaluation of disc susceptibility test and its interpretation system

In vitro activities of cefuzonam (CZON) against 273 clinical isolates were studied through the evaluation of MIC's and the results of disc susceptibility test. The MIC's were determined using the agar dilution method at an inoculum level of 10(6)CFU/ml. The MIC80's of CZON against Streptococcus pneumoniae, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Proteus mirabilis, Proteus vulgaris, Haemophilus influenzae and Citrobacter spp. were less than 0.20 microgram/ml. The MIC80's against Serratia marcescens and Enterobacter aerogenes were both 6.25 micrograms/ml, and that against Pseudomonas aeruginosa was 100 micrograms/ml. The MIC80's against Staphy-lococcus epidermidis were 25 and 6.25 micrograms/ml, respectively. Approximately 70% of strains of S. aureus were inhibited at concentrations less than 1.56 microgram/ml. For the interpretation of the CZON Showa 30 micrograms disc susceptibility test a 4 category system was used. In the 4 category system for Showa disc containing CZON, the following classification inhibitory zone diameters has been proposed: ( ) MIC less than or equal to 3 micrograms/ml, (++) MIC greater than 3-15 micrograms/ml, (+) MIC greater than 15-60 micrograms/ml, (-) MIC less than 60 micrograms/ml. Reliability of the CZON disc tests in estimating approximate MIC values was studied using Showa 30 micrograms discs and discs prepared in this laboratory containing 1-10 micrograms CZON. A good negative correlation was observed between inhibitory zone diameters and MIC's, showing the reliability of the disc method. The results of the test using Showa 30 micrograms disc against various clinical isolates were accurately classified into the 4 groups except those against P. aeruginosa. Some strains of P. aeuruginosa showed false positive results, exhibiting relatively larger inhibitory zone diameters compared with MIC's against these organisms. As CZON is not effective against P. aeruginosa a much better overall correlation between MIC's and the disc test would result when P. aeruginosa was excluded. With Showa 30 micrograms discs of various cephalosporins, sub-classification of strains with MIC less than 3 micrograms/ml cannot be achieved. In this study, however, it was demonstrated that differentiation of strains with MIC's less than 0.5-1.56 micrograms/ml was possible when discs containing 1-10 micrograms of CZON were used. According to recent concepts on pharmacokinetics for antibiotics including penetration of drugs into tissues and inflammatory fluids, serum protein binding of drugs appears to be one of the important determinants of drug distribution in the body.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)     

The comparative activity of twelve 4-quinolone antimicrobials against gram-positive and gram-negative anaerobes

The minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of twelve 4-quinolone antimicrobials were determined for the Bacteroides fragilis group (50), Bacteroides melaninogenicus (20), Bacteroides bivius (10), Fusobacterium spp. (10), anaerobic Gram-positive cocci (50) and Clostridium spp. (20). MICs were determined using an agar dilution technique in Mueller-Hinton agar supplemented with 10% lysed horse blood. The inoculum used was approximately 10(4) colony-forming units, contained in 10 microliter of Mueller-Hinton broth, which was applied to the agar plates using a multipoint inoculator. Following inoculation, plates were incubated at 37 degrees C for 48 h in an anaerobic atmosphere. The MIC of each antimicrobial for each isolate examined was determined as the lowest concentration of the antimicrobial which completely inhibited growth of the inoculum. The minimum concentrations required to inhibit the growth of 50% (MIC50) and 90% (MIC90) of the organism examined were also determined. All of the more recently synthesised 4-quinolones showed increased activity against the anaerobic bacteria used in this study. Ciprofloxacin and ofloxacin were the most active compounds examined (Bacteroides fragilis group MIC90 ciprofloxacin 4 micrograms/ml; ofloxacin 4 microgram/ml; Bacteroides melaninogenicus MIC90 ciprofloxacin 2 micrograms/ml, ofloxacin 2 micrograms/ml; Bacteroides bivius MIC90 ciprofloxacin 16 micrograms/ml, ofloxacin 32 micrograms/ml; Fusobacterium spp. MIC90 ciprofloxacin 2 micrograms/ml, ofloxacin 4 micrograms/ml; Clostridium spp. MIC90 ciprofloxacin 1 microgram/ml, ofloxacin 1 microgram/ml and anaerobic Gram-positive cocci MIC90 ciprofloxacin 4 micrograms/ml, ofloxacin 4 micrograms/ml).     

In vitro antibacterial activity of various cephems against clinical isolates from complicated urinary tract infections

In vitro antibacterial activity of several cephems (CEZ as the first generation (group A); CTM and CMZ as the second generation (group B); CMX, CPZ, LMOX, CTX and CZX as the third generation (group C)) against 8 species, each of 54 strains, of Gram-negative clinical isolates from complicated urinary tract infection was compared by determination of the MICs. The following results were obtained: The most sensitive drugs against each species in MIC80; CTX (MIC80 0.20 microgram/ml) against E. coli, CMX (1.56 microgram/ml) against K. pneumoniae, LMOX (0.39 microgram/ml) against P. mirabilis, LMOX (0.78 microgram/ml) against Indole (+) Proteus, CMX and CPZ (50 micrograms/ml) against E. cloacae, CMX and LMOX (50 micrograms/ml) against C. freundii, CMX (3.13 micrograms/ml) against S. marcescens and CPZ (25 micrograms/ml) against P. aeruginosa The most sensitive drugs against each species in MICS100; CMX (MIC100 3.13 micrograms/ml) against E. coli, CMX (6.25 micrograms/ml) against K. pneumoniae, CTX (0.78 microgram/ml) against P. mirabilis, LMOX (1.56 microgram/ml) against Indole (+) Proteus, CPZ (100 micrograms/ml) against E. cloacae, CMX (100 micrograms/ml) against C. freundii, CMX (12.5 microgram/ml) against S. marcescens and CPZ (50 micrograms/ml) against P. aeruginosa. In each species, the group C were most sensitive followed by those of the group B. Many isolates were highly resistant to the group A (especially in C. freundii, S. marcescens and P. aeruginosa).     

Pharmacokinetic, bacteriological and clinical studies in the pediatric field on norfloxacin

We have evaluated norfloxacin (NFLX), a fluoroquinolone agent, in tablet form for its efficacy and safety in the field of pediatrics. 1. Mean serum concentrations of NFLX following oral administration to 3 children at dose levels of 3.2 mg/kg, 3.7 mg/kg and 5.4 mg/kg were, respectively, 0.7 microgram/ml, 0.18 microgram/ml and 0.64 microgram/ml at 2-4 hours. Mean serum half-lives (T1/2) of NFLX were 2.5-2.9 hours and mean urinary recovery rates in the first 6 hours after administrations were 7.1-30.7%, depending on dose levels. 2. Antibacterial activities of NFLX against clinically isolated 30 organisms from children were determined. MIC of NFLX against Staphylococcus aureus was similar to that of ABPC, 0.39-25 micrograms/ml. MIC of NFLX against Escherichia coli was approximately less than or equal to 0.10 microgram/ml. This MIC value was lower than other antibiotics. MIC of NFLX against Vibrio parahaemolyticus was less than or equal to 0.10 microgram/ml. 3. NFLX was administered to 30 patients (7 patients with Salmonella enteritis, 7 patients with Campylobacter enteritis, 5 patients with other enteritis, 1 patient with bacillary dysentery, 8 patients with urinary tract infection, 2 patients with skin soft tissue infection). The clinical responses of these 30 patients were as follows; excellent: 24 patients, good: 4 patients. The efficacy rate was 93.3%. 4. The bacteriological efficacy rate of NFLX against clinically isolated 29 organisms from children was 75.9%, including 3 cases in which other antimicrobial agents had been ineffective. Especially against Salmonella spp. was superior to other agents tested. 5. Neither clinical adverse reaction nor abnormal laboratory data was found in any of these 33 patients.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)