[Combined antibacterial activity of aztreonam and clindamycin against clinically isolated strains]

It has been reported in some studies that the combination of aztreonam (AZT) and clindamycin (CLDM) have high clinical effectiveness in the treatment of intractable infections. We, therefore, studied combined in vitro antibacterial activity of these 2 compounds using many freshly isolated strains. 1. AZT and CLDM in combination had synergistic effects on Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Streptococcus pneumoniae, and Haemophilus influenzae, which are sensitive or quasi-sensitive to CLDM, in the presence of CLDM at MIC or sub-MIC. 2. For Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Citrobacter freundii, Enterobacter cloacae, Serratia marcescens, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which are not sensitive to CLDM, the 2 drugs in combination showed synergistic effects on some species and additive or slightly additive effects on most species in the presence of CLDM at those concentrations which are usually maintained in blood. 3. The 2 drugs showed no antagonism.