Efficacy and safety of twice daily administration of cefpirome in the empiric treatment of sepsis.

ABSTRACT

Cefpirome is a fourth-generation cephalosporin with good activity against both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. A multicentre trial was performed to study the efficacy and safety of cefpirome 2 g twice daily in the treatment of sepsis. Sixty-three cases were recruited from 10 hospitals from April 1996 to January 1998. Fifty seven cases could be evaluated according to the protocol. The APACHE II score was used to measure severity of illness, with 46.9 per cent of patients having APACHE II score more than 10 and two patients more than 20; both were cured. The most common pathogens were gram-negative bacteria with E. coli predominating 16/40 (40.0%), followed by Klebsiella 8/40 (20.0%). The overall clinical success rates were 54 out of 57 patients (94.7%). In patients with positive blood culture, the clinical cures were achieved for 20/22 (90.9%). Cefpirome showed good efficacy and safety in the empirical treatment of suspected bacteremia or sepsis.