Empiric therapy in severe intractable respiratory tract infections Study of combination treatment with carumonam and cefuzonam

• Published in: CHEMOTHERAPY Vol. 40; no. 7; pp. 919 - 932
• Main Author: Tanimoto, Hiroichi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Japanese
• Published: Japanese Society of Chemotherapy 25.07.1992; 公益社団法人 日本化学療法学会
• Subjects: empiric therapy; 気道感染症; 肺炎; 起炎菌不明例
• ISSN: 0009-3165; 1884-5894
• DOI: 10.11250/chemotherapy1953.40.919

Carumonam (CRMN), a monobactam antibiotic, and cefuzonam (CZON), a cephem antibiotic, were concomitantly administered twice daily in a dose of 0.5-2 g each to 37 patients with severe intractable respiratory tract infections as a complication of various underlying diseases, Clinical efficacy and side effects of this combination therapy were evaluated. The subjects of this study were 30 patients with pneumomia (including 2 patients with pulmonary abscess) and 7 patients of lower respiratory tract infections. Clinical efficacy was evaluated as excellent in 3 patients, good in 20, fair in 8, and poor in 6, yielding a 62% efficacy rate overall. The efficacy rate was 69% in the 23 patients who had received no antibiotics previously and 50% in the 14 patients who had received antibiotics prior to the combination therapy. Bacteriological effects could be evaluated in 12 patients, and the eradication rate was found to be 83%(eradication in 9 patients and replacement in 1). As for side effects, fever+rash+eosinopenia, GPT elevation+thrombocytopenia, and thrombocytosis were observed in one patient each, and discontinuation of administration of both drugs was followed by recovery. Combination therapy with CRMN and CZON is useful from the standpoint of empiric in the early treatment of severe intractabie respiratory tract infections caused by undetermined causative organisms.