Efficacy and safety of intravenous ciprofloxacin in the treatment of serious infections. A comparison with ceftazidime.

Intravenous ciprofloxacin (200 mg every 12 hours) was compared with intravenous ceftazidime (1 g every eight hours) as therapy for 62 episodes of severe infections occurring in 60 adult patients, all of whom failed previous antimicrobial therapy. The study was designed as a prospective, controlled, randomized, non-blinded trial in a tertiary university care center. A variety of infections including skin and skin structure, urinary tract, bacteremia, pneumonia, and intra-abdominal infections were treated. Clinical cure was achieved in 83.3 percent (25 of 30) of patients treated with ciprofloxacin and in 87 percent (26 of 30) of patients treated with ceftazidime (p = 0.4). Bacteriologic and overall responses were also similar in both treatment groups (p = 0.4 and 0.375, respectively). Intravenous ciprofloxacin administered twice daily is an effective treatment for severe infections caused by susceptible organisms.

Double-blind comparison of ciprofloxacin with cefotaxime in the treatment of skin and skin structure infections.

Oral ciprofloxacin (750 mg twice daily) was compared with intravenous cefotaxime (2 g three times daily) as therapy for 61 episodes of skin and skin structure infections occurring in adult patients. A variety of infections including cellulitis, infected ulcers, abscesses, and other miscellaneous infections were treated. Clinical cure was achieved in 77 percent (24 patients) of 31 patients treated with ciprofloxacin and in 76 percent (22 patients) of 28 patients treated with cefotaxime. The response was slower in infected diabetic patients than in non-diabetic patients in both groups. Side effects were minimal and appeared only in the cefotaxime group. Ciprofloxacin taken twice daily was as effective as cefotaxime administered intravenously three times daily in the treatment of skin and skin structure infections.

Streptococcal infections and their sequelae in the upper respiratory tract.

Local sequelae of group A beta-hemolytic streptococci (GABHS) are common and can vary from otitis media, sinusitis, cervical adenitis associated with generalized adenopathy, peritonsillitis and persisting symptoms in spite of therapy, GABHS is one of the pathogens isolated in acute or chronic otitis media and in acute maxillary sinusitis. In cervical adenitis associated with generalized adenopathy GABHS is, along with S. aureus, the most commonly recovered bacteria. In peritonsillitis, GABHS can be recovered alone or in combination with anaerobes in 50% of the cases. These sequelae are usually associated with a slow clinical response to therapy and a high percentage of relapses, reinfections, and chronic infections in the presence of a penicillin-sensitive GABHS. One of the possible causes of these so-called failures is the interference that beta-lactamase producing bacteria can have on the activity of penicillin and similar compounds. When to select a beta-lactamase-resistant antibiotic for the treatment of an apparent penicillin-sensitive infection remains an important area for further research.

Actividad antibacteriana topica del acido pseudomonico: evaluacion doble ciega controlada con placebo. / Antibacterial topical activity of pseudomonic acid: a double-blind evaluation controlled with placebo

El acido pseudomonico es un nuevo antibiotico derivado de la Pseudomonas fluorescens (NCIB 10586). Inhibe la sintesis proteica de los microorganismos sensibles y tiene actividad contra bacterias grampositivas, en especial S. aureus asi como contra algunas gramnegativas.Se estudiaron 50 pacientes con infecciones cutaneas, de los cuales 25 fueron tratados con acido pseudomonico y 25 recibieron placebo. Ambos grupos fueron similares por lo que respecta al tipo de infeccion y enfermidades asociadas. Se tomaron cultivos de superficie antes durante y despues del tratamiento. El medicamento activo y el placebo inerte se aplicaron en forma de crema 3 veces al dia durante 5 a 10 dias. Se trataron 22 infecciones secundarias y 3 primarias en cada uno de los dos grupos. Vientitres de los que recibieron acido pseudomonico se curaron, en comparacion con 16 del grupo testigo. Hubo una falla terapeutica en el grupo tratado con acido pseudomonico y 8 en el testigo. Por lo tanto, se puede concluir que algunas infecciones cutaneas pueden beneficiarse con el tratamiento topico de acido pseudomonico