Enteropathogenic Esch. coli gastroenteritis in premature infants and children treated with fosfomycin

Forty-two infants, some premature, with enteropathogenic Esch. coli (EPEC) gastroenteritis were treated with an oral suspension of fosfomycin in a dose of 100 and 200 mg/kg per day. After the treatment there were 11 secondary clinical infections (6 reinfections and 5 relapses) which received a second treatment with fosfomycin. In total, 53 treatments were made with fosfomycin and in 92% of the cases there was both clinical and bacteriological cure. 93% of the EPEC strains were sensitive to fosfomycin in vitro, their minimum inhibitory concentrations being less than 64 mug/ml. The concentration of fosfomycin in blood and faeces was assayed by a diffusion plate microbiological method in a group of these children, showing that this antibiotic is partly absorbed and the rest eliminated in the faeces, where its concentration was found to be very high. Tolerance of the product was good, and there were neither toxic nor side effects.