Moxalactam therapy of difficult infections in patients with serious underlying conditions.

Moxalactam was the single therapeutic agent used to treat a variety of infections in sixty-three patients, most of whom had serious concomitant illnesses. Fifty-three patient case reports qualified for evaluation, including those with pneumonia (8), urinary tract infections (18), superficial infections (6), orthopaedic infections (7), osteomyelitis (8), septicaemia (4), pansinusitis (1), and meningitis (1). Preliminary in vitro studies had indicated that most organisms, including those resistant to other antibacterial agents, would respond to moxalactam. Infecting bacteria from the fifty-three evaluable patients included a wide variety of Gram-positive and Gram-negative organisms. Doses of moxalactam ranged from 1 to 16 g/day administered intravenously or intramuscularly for 5 to 41 days. With few explainable exceptions, clinical and bacteriologic responses were adequate and satisfactory. Adverse effects were inconsequential. Allergic reactions were not observed, even in patients with a past history of reactions to penicillin.

Treatment of acute bacterial bronchitis and pneumonia with cefaclor.

Sixty patients with pneumonia and/or bronchitis were treated with cefaclor, a new orally administered cephalosporin. Of those 60, 27 adults were treated with 500 mg every 8 hours, 26 adults with 250 mg every 6 hours, and 7 children with 50 mg/kg/day. In the adults, pneumonia was caused most frequently by Streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae. The 7 children had pneumococcal pneumonia. All but 2 adults, both elderly patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, were successfully treated. One instance of drug hypersensitivity occurred. All 7 children responded rapidly, with no side effects, to cefaclor therapy.