[Antimicrobial activity of cefetamet against clinically isolated microbial strains collected from urban RTI patients]

The authors studied antimicrobial activities of cefetamet (CFMT) and other leading oral antimicrobials of beta-lactam class against clinically isolated strains from urban respiratory tract infection (RTI) patients from January to March, 1992. 1. CFMT showed potent antimicrobial activities against "3 primary pathogens" of RTIs i.e., Streptococcus pyogenes, Streptococcus pneumoniae, and Haemophilus influenzae, but the drug had a slightly higher MIC than those of a few oxime-type cephems already on the market. 2. CFMT was as stable as cefixime to beta-lactamase, generated by Moraxella subgenus Branhamella catarrhalis, which reduces the antimicrobial activity of cephems. 3. Blood concentrations of CFMT after administering cefetamet pivoxil (CFMT-PI), an oral form of the drug, exceeded the MIC80 against the "3 primary pathogens" as well as M. (B) catarrhalis and Klebsiella pneumoniae, for a duration of approximately 9 and 11 hours, respectively, after single doses of 250 and 500 mg. This suggests that CFMT could remain above the MICs for a sufficient time period with twice daily dosages of normal dose levels. 4. It is concluded that CFMT-PI will be useful for treating urban RTIs.