Rapid identification of enterococci by reduction of litmus milk.

Of 100 strains of enterococci, 83% reduced litmus milk within 4 h. None of the 100 non-enterococcal streptococci tested were positive.

Comparative susceptibility of penicillinase-positive and -negative Neisseria gonorrhoeae to 30 antibiotics.

The minimal inhibitory concentrations of 30 antibiotics were determined by the agar dilution method for 17 penicillinase-positive and 50 penicillinase-negative strains of Neisseria gonorrhoeae. The latter included 42 strains that were penicillin susceptible (pen S) (minimal inhibitory concentration, <0.125 mug/ml) and 8 strains with intermediate resistance to penicillin (pen I; minimal inhibitory concentration, 0.125 to 0.5 mug/ml). Two penicillinase-resistant penicillins (methicillin and nafcillin) were inhibitory for penicillin-resistant (pen R) strains. Three new cephalosporins (cefuroxime, cefamandole, cefaclor) and a cephamycin (cefoxitin) were bacteriostatic (minimal inhibitory concentration

Ascitic fluid cephalosporin concentrations: influence of protein binding and serum pharmacokinetics.

Mongrel dogs with ascites created by inferior vena cava ligation were given cephalothin, cephaloridine, cefazolin, and cefamandole to evaluate the effect of protein binding and serum pharmacokinetics on the distribution of cephalosporins into ascitic fluid. Antibiotics were given intramuscularly (15 mg/kg) every 4 h for a total of eight doses. Antibiotic binding to dog serum and ascitic fluid was measured by ultracentrifugation. Binding of the cephalosporins to dog serum ranged from 31% for cephaloridine to 46% for cephalothin, considerably lower than human serum binding for cefazolin, cephalothin, and cefamandole. Antibiotic binding to ascitic fluid was only slightly lower than that to serum. Ascitic fluid antibiotic concentrations, which approached equilibrium at 16 to 28 h, were significantly higher for cefazolin and cephaloridine than for cephalothin and cefamandole. However, serum concentrations were also higher for cefazolin and cephaloridine, and percent penetration (ratio of serum peak to ascites peak x 100) was not statistically different among the four drugs. Binding of these cephalosporins to extravascular fluid protein was an important factor that determined the total ascitic fluid antibiotic level achieved. A formula utilizing the log mean serum level and binding to serum and extravascular fluid protein was used to accurately predict ascitic fluid drug levels at equilibrium.

Prediction of the concentration of penicillins in ascitic fluid from serum kinetics and protein binding of the antibiotics in serum and ascitic fluid of dogs.

Ascites was induced in dogs by partial ligation of the inferior vena cava. Concentrations of ampicillin, penicillin G, oxacillin, cloxacillin, dicloxacillin, nafcillin, and methicillin in ascitic fluid and serum were each determined in three animals. All antibiotics were administered intramuscularly in a dose of 15 mg/kg (dry weight) for both single-dose and multiple-dose (eight doses at 4-hr intervals) studies. Binding of antibiotics to serum and ascitic fluid proteins was measured by ultracentrifugation. After single doses the highly protein-bound drugs (oxacillin, cloxacillin, dicloxacillin, and nafcillin) had lower percentages of penetration (ratio of peak in ascitic fluid to that in serum, multipled by 100) than did methicillin, ampicillin, and penicillin G, which have a lower degree of protein binding. The effect was partially overcome by repetitive doses, but five to six doses were usually required to reach equilibrium. In addition to protein binding, serum kinetics (particularly the log mean total concentration of drug in serum after multiple doses) were important determinants of antibiotic concentrations in ascitic fluid. The total antibiotic concentration in ascitic fluid at equilibrium can be accurately calculated from the log mean serum concnetration and the percentages of protein binding in serum and ascitic fluid.

Medium-dependent variation in bactericidal activity of antibiotics against susceptible Staphylococcus aureus.

Staphylococcus aureus resistant to bactericidal activity of antibiotics caused sepsis in three patients. Bacteriological and clinical responses were not achieved until serum and tissue fluid levels of administered antibiotics exceeded the minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of the infecting organism. Fifteen clinical isolates of S. aureus were tested in brain heart infusion broth and Mueller-Hinton broth for the MBC of gentamicin, vancomycin, clindamycin, oxacillin, cefazolin, and cephalothin. Results showed significant eightfold or greater broth-dependent differences in the MBC of at least one antibiotic against 87% (13/15) of strains tested. The MBC was unpredictable and varied with the strain, antibiotic, and medium used. No controlled studies are available to indicate the clinical significance of the MBC demonstrated in different media. The necessity for treating serious infection with bactericidal drugs has not yet been established; however, in septicemia such as that caused by bacterial endocarditis, bacteriostatic antibiotics have generally failed to eradicate the infection, whereas bactericidal agents have often been curative. Therefore, in patients unresponsive to usual antistaphylococcal therapy, we suggest that MBC testing be performed in at least two media and that treatment be instituted with antibiotics demonstrating the lowest MBC in all media used.

Antibiotic concentrations in ascitic fluid of patients with ascites and bacterial peritonitis.

Thirty-six paired specimens of serum and ascitic fluid from 21 patients with peritonitis and ascites, most with sponetaneous bacterial peritonitis and alcoholic cirrhosis, were assayed for antibiotic content. Antibiotics assayed and number of determinations were gentamicin, 14; tobramycin, 7; ampicillin, 5; clindamycin, 3; penicillin G, 2; cephalothin, 2; chloramphenico, 2; and cefazolin, 1. In 31 pared specimens the ascitic fluid antibiotic concentration was about one half or more of the simultaneous serum level and in 17 assays exceeded 90% of the serum level. All antibiotics studied penetrated ascitic fluid equally well. Clinical response to antibiotic therapy was good in 12 of 16 patients with culture-proven bacterial peritonitis. Antibiotic levels in ascitic fluid exceeded the minimal inhibitory concentration of the infecting organisms in all but one patient who responded. Direct intraperitoneal instillation of antibiotics does not appear to be necessary routinely; however, there may be an initial lag of several hours before antibiotic concentrations is ascites achieve therapeutic levels.

Penetration of tobramycin into infected extravascular fluids and its therapeutic effectiveness.

The aminoglycoside antibiotic tobramycin was given intramuscularly to 15 patients with infected body fluids (empyema in five patients, peritonitis in five, peritonitis and empyema in one, tracheobronchitis in three, and infection of the pacemaker pocket in one). The infecting bacteria included Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella, Enterobacter, Serratia, Escherichia coli, Proteus species, and Staphylococcus aureus. The mean dose of tobramycin was 1.7 mg/kg given intramuscularly every 8 hr for nine to 10 days. Levels of tobramycin in specimens of serum and infected body fluid obtained simultaneously were measured at various intervals after a dose of the antibiotic. Comparison was made between levels of tobramycin and minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of the infecting bacteria. Bacteriological and clinical failures were common if the level in body fluid did not exceed the MIC. In patients with levels of tobramycin in body fluid that were higher than the MIC, cures were frequent. Drainage of infected body fluids is a necessary part of successful therapy of these infections.

Cephalosporin and aminoglycoside concentrations in peritoneal capsular fluid in rabbits.

To study the penetration of antibiotics into peritoneal tissue fluid, a subcutaneous tissue capsule model was modified by implanting multiple, perforated spherical capsules in the peritoneal cavity of rabbits. Capsules became vascularized, encased in connective tissue, and filled with fluid having a mean protein concentration of 3.6 g/100 ml. Capsular fluid was obtained by percutaneous needle aspiration and assayed for antibiotic by the disk plate bioassay technique. Cephalosporins were administered intramuscularly at a dose of 30 mg/kg. Mean peak concentrations of cephaloridine and cefazolin were significantly higher than cephalothin and cephapirin in capsular fluids, but the percent penetration (ratio of capsular mean peak to serum mean peak) ranged from 8.7 to 16.9% and was not significantly different among the cephalosporins. At 24 h the capsular concentration of cefazolin was significantly greater than for the other cephalosporins (P < 0.001). Lower rabbit serum protein binding observed at high in vivo concentrations may have enabled cefazolin to penetrate capsular fluid, but in vitro protein binding studies did not confirm a decrease in serum protein binding at high concentrations within the clinical range. Kanamycin and amikacin showed comparable capsular fluid peak concentrations as did gentamicin and tobramycin. The percent penetration ranged from 15.2 to 34.5% for the aminoglycosides. The only statistical difference was that amikacin penetration was significantly higher than that for tobramycin. Mean capsular concentrations of amikacin, cefazolin, and cephaloridine compared most favorably with the minimum inhibitory concentration of gram-negative bacilli at the dosages used in this study.

Effect of protein concentration and binding on antibiotic assays.

ASSAY CURVES, USING A DISK DIFFUSION METHOD FOR THE ANTIBIOTICS GENTAMICIN AND CEFAZOLIN, WERE PREPARED WITH: saline, saline plus 10% serum, and ascitic, synovial, cerebrospinal, and pleural fluids. The curves were compared with a standard curve prepared with pooled human serum. The pH, total protein, glucose, blood urea nitrogen, sodium, potassium, calcium, phosphorus, chloride, CO(2) content, uric acid, cholesterol, bilirubin, serum glutamic oxalacetic transaminase, CPK, LDH, and alkaline phosphatase were determined and compared for all fluids. Measurements for cefazolin levels were falsely elevated in those fluids with low protein content when serum was used as a reference standard. There was a linear inverse relationship between the protein content of the fluids and the cefazolin level with serum as the standard for the assay of this highly protein-bound antibiotic. No discrepancies were observed in the assay curves for gentamicin, an antibiotic known not to be bound by serum proteins.