sultamicillin and Chronic-Disease

In a pregnant rabbit model using intracervical inoculation of Escherichia coli with delayed antibiotic therapy, we investigated the rate of positive cultures and histologic inflammation of maternal and fetal compartments and the concentration of tumor necrosis factor-alpha in the amniotic fluid for up to 5 days.. New Zealand White rabbits at 70% gestation were inoculated intracervically with 10(3) - 10(4) colony-forming units of E coli per uterine horn. At varying intervals after inoculation (0.5 - 4.0 hours), antibiotic therapy was initiated with ampicillin-sulbactam. Primary outcomes were positive cultures and histologic inflammation score. Tumor necrosis factor-alpha levels in the amniotic fluid were determined by bioassay.. A total of 60 animals were inoculated with E coli. At the endpoint, uterine cultures were positive more commonly than in the fetus or amniotic fluid (41.8% vs 27.5% vs 17.3%, respectively), which was consistent with an ascending pathway of infection. Inflammation scores were similar in uterus and placenta but lower in fetal lung and absent in fetal brain (2.8 vs 3.1 vs 0.84 vs 0.0, respectively). Comparing the durations of delay in antibiotic administration, we found a significant increase in positive uterine cultures and a significant increase in histologic inflammation score with increasing delay. The proportion of dead pups within a litter was significantly associated with the log of the tumor necrosis factor-alpha concentration in amniotic fluid and the degree of histologic inflammation in the uterus, but not with amniotic fluid or other culture positivity.. The administration of therapeutic doses of antibiotic does not consistently eradicate bacteria from the rabbit uterus nor, more importantly, from the fetus and the amniotic fluid. Obtaining a negative amniotic fluid culture does not exclude either infection in the decidua or the fetus or histologic inflammation with tumor necrosis factor-alpha elaboration.

Topics: Amniotic Fluid; Ampicillin; Animals; Chronic Disease; Drug Administration Schedule; Drug Therapy, Combination; Escherichia coli; Escherichia coli Infections; Female; Fetal Death; Fetal Diseases; Fetus; Inflammation; Pregnancy; Pregnancy Complications, Infectious; Rabbits; Sulbactam; Treatment Failure; Uterine Diseases; Uterus

Topics: Adult; Ampicillin; Bronchitis; Cefuroxime; Chronic Disease; Drug Therapy, Combination; Female; Humans; Male; Prodrugs; Sulbactam; Treatment Outcome

Oral tablets containing 375 mg sultamicillin were used to treat 30 adult patients of either sex suffering from lower respiratory tract infections. The dose used was one tablet every 12 h for 22 cases and one tablet every 8 h for eight cases. The duration of therapy varied between 5 and 14 days (mean 8.6 days). The therapeutic response was rated as cure in 23 (76.6%) patients, with complete disappearance of pretreatment signs and symptoms, and as improvement in seven (23.3%) patients, with amelioration of the pretreatment manifestations. All 52 microorganisms isolated before treatment were eradicated. No adverse effects were reported in 25 (83.3%) patients, whereas the remaining five (16.7%) patients reported mild loose stools with normal bowel motion. There were no abnormal changes in blood count and liver and renal functions following sultamicillin treatment.

Topics: Acute Disease; Administration, Oral; Adult; Ampicillin; Bacterial Infections; Bronchitis; Chronic Disease; Drug Therapy, Combination; Female; Humans; Male; Pneumonia; Respiratory Tract Infections; Sulbactam; Tablets

Sulbactam is a new beta-lactamase inhibitor with pharmacokinetic characteristics in humans similar to those of ampicillin. A total of 41 patients hospitalized in the Clinic of Infectious Diseases, University of Naples, for chronic liver diseases, were treated with sulbactam/ampicillin (ratio 1:2) for urinary, respiratory, biliary tract or soft tissue infections. Sulbactam/ampicillin was administered im or iv at a dosage of 3-9 g/day depending on the site and severity of the infection. All the patients treated with sulbactam/ampicillin had clinical signs and symptoms of infection, and all the organisms isolated were sensitive to sulbactam/ampicillin (MIC less than 16 mg/l). For both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria the sulbactam/ampicillin MICs were much lower than the ampicillin MICs. In agreement with the favourable in-vitro results, we observed good therapeutic efficacy. 85% of the patients recovered or improved within a few days of therapy, with no clinical relapses, and in 81% of the infections the responsible bacteria were completely eradicated. We observed a low number of side effects (3/41 oral candidosis; 3/41 pain at the im injection site) and no change in the blood chemistry tests.

Topics: Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Ampicillin; Bacterial Infections; beta-Lactamase Inhibitors; Chronic Disease; Drug Combinations; Female; Gram-Negative Bacteria; Gram-Positive Bacteria; Humans; Liver Diseases; Liver Function Tests; Male; Microbial Sensitivity Tests; Middle Aged; Penicillanic Acid; Sulbactam