Cefepime compared with ceftazidime as initial therapy for serious bacterial infections and sepsis syndrome.

In an open randomized multicenter comparative study, we evaluated the safety and efficacy of cefepime (CP; 2.0 g given intravenously every 12 h) and ceftazidime (CZ; 2.0 g given intravenously every 8 h) as initial treatment for adult patients with suspected serious bacterial infections. A total of 133 patients entered the study, of whom 114 were evaluable for clinical and microbiological response assessment: 56 received CP and 58 received CZ. About 50% (30 who received CP and 25 who received CZ) fulfilled the criteria of the sepsis syndrome. The treatment groups were comparable with respect to sex distribution, mean age, underlying diseases, treatment duration, APACHE II score, and type of infection. The most commonly cultured microorganisms were members of the family Enterobacteriaceae, Streptococcus pneumoniae, and Staphylococcus aureus. The causative microorganisms were eradicated from 92% (37 of 40) of patients with a microbiologically documented infection who underwent treatment with CP; they were eradicated from 86% (42 to 49) of patients who received CZ. The responses of only clinically documented infections in the CP group were 90% (27 of 30 patients); in the CZ group they were 87% (26 of 30 patients). When patients fulfilled the criteria of the sepsis syndrome (septic shock excluded), the causative microorganisms were eradicated from 89% (16 of 18) of CP-treated patients and 86% (12 of 14) of CZ-treated patients. None of these differences was statistically significant. Mortality was the same in both groups (four patients in each group) and was not attributable to the study medication. In conclusion, CP is at least as effective and as safe as CZ, as initial antimicrobial therapy for suspected serious bacterial infections in nonneutropenic patients with or without the sepsis syndrome. CP has the additional advantage in that it can be given twice daily, which may lead to a decrease in hospital costs.

Pharmacokinetics of cefepime in patients with the sepsis syndrome.

We investigated the pharmacokinetics of cefepime after administration of multiple doses to seven patients with the sepsis syndrome. Patients ranged in age from 66 to 78 years (mean +/- S.D.: 74 +/- 5 years); all fulfilled the criteria of the sepsis syndrome and had APACHE-II scores between 14 and 21 (mean +/- S.D.: 17 +/- 2). Serial blood and urine samples were collected after a minimum of 3 days (steady state) of treatment with cefepime 2.0 g bd i.v. Cefepime was assayed by HPLC. Data were analysed using non-compartmental methods. The mean +/- S.D. creatinine clearance (Clcr) was 55 +/- 8 mL/min. Mean +/- S.D. values for selected pharmacokinetic parameters on day 5 were Cmax (94.2 +/- 23.9 mg/L), T1/2 (3.4 +/- 1.1 h), Vdss (32.6 +/- 17.5 L), and the total clearance Cl(total) (125 +/- 51 mL/min). Time to peak plasma concentration (Tmax) and area under curve (AUC) averaged 0.7 +/- 0.2 h and 305 +/- 115 mg.h/L, respectively. Cefepime plasma concentrations were above the MIC90 for Pseudomonas aeruginosa (7 mg/L) for approximately 80% of the time and in the case of Enterobacteriaceae (0.5 mg/L) for 100% of the time. The more prolonged T1/2 in comparison with young healthy volunteers (T1/2 = 2.1 h) is consistent with the changes in renal function associated with increased age, and is comparable to data obtained in healthy elderly subjects (T1/2 = 3.7 h). Cmax, AUC and Cl(tot) were more variable than those observed in previous studies and are probably a reflection of the clinical conditions under which dosing and sampling occurred.