ABSTRACT
Objective To compare the in vitro activity of cefminox with other antimicrobial agents against clinical Escherichia coil, Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates and Bacteroides species. Methods MICs of sixteen antimicrobial agents against 945 Escherichia coli and 588 Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates from 15 teaching hospitals and MICs of four antimicrobial agents against 50 Bacteroides species isolates were determined by agar dilution method. WHONET 5.4 software was used to analyze the data. Results Among 1533 Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates, 628 isolates produced neither extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBLs) nor AmpC, while 837 isolates produced only ESBLs and 68 isolates produced AmpC enzymes. The susceptibility rate of cefminox against non-ESBLs-producing or ESBLs-producing isolates was above 90%. MIC_(50) of eefminox was 2-4 fold lower than cefometazole and 8-16 fold lower than cefoxitin. MIC50 of cefminox was 2-8 fold lower than cefometazole and 8-16 fold lower than cefoxitin. Against ESBLs-producing isolates, the in vitro activity of cefminox was superior to the third and fourth generation cephalosporins, aztreonam, cefoperazone/sulbactam, levofloxacin, amikacin and inferior to carbapenems. Its activity was similar to piperacillin-tazobactam. The susceptibility rate of cefminox against AmpC-producing isolates was less than 20%. The susceptibility rate of cefminox against Bacteroides species was 90%, which was higher than that of cefometazole (50% -70%) and penicillin (0%) and similar to that of metronidazole. Conclusion Cefminox exhibites good activity against ESBLs-producing and non-ESBLs-producing Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates and Bacteroides species, which indicates that cefminox could be one of the options for the treatment of infections caused by these organisms.