ABSTRACT
The combination of piperacillin and tazobactam was studied in a microtiter checkerboard assay against 160 strains of Enterobacteriaceae selected for their resistance pattern to amoxicillin, ticarcillin, cephalothin and cefotaxime. Mean FIC indices were respectively 0.02, 0.17 and 0.01 for RRSS strains of E. coli, K. pneumoniae and P. mirabilis. Mean FIC indices were 0.03 for RRRI/R strains of K. pneumoniae producing a broad spectrum beta-lactamase, but the synergistic effect was out of therapeutic range for 16 strains of 20. Mean FIC indices were 0.53, 0.90, 0.55, 0.10 and 0.21 respectively against RSRS strains of E. coli, E. cloacae, S. marcescens, M. morganii and P. vulgaris. Mean FIC indices were 0.02, 0.07, 0.02 and 0.01 against RRRS/R strains of E. coli, E. cloacae, S. marcescens and M. morganii but they were in a therapeutical range (piperacillin less than or equal to 8 mg/l and tazobactam less than or equal to 4 mg/l) respectively for 7, 0, 4 and 10 strains of 10 in each species. Tazobactam restored the antibacterial activity of piperacillin against enterobacterial strains mainly producing a penicillinase or a cephalosporinase for M. morganii and P. vulgaris.
