Comparative activity of cefotetan against plasmid-encoded aminoglycoside-resistant enterobacteria strains

304 strains of R-plasmid harbouring enterobacteria resistant to aminoglycosides were studied for their susceptibilities to a range of antibiotics, including cefotetan. Cefotetan and latamoxef were the most active of the four cephamycins tested and all were stable to the beta-lactamases produced by these strains. No new beta-lactamases (SHV-2, CTX-1, TEM-4, CAZ-1) were found in these strains capable of hydrolysing third generation cephalosporins. The activity of cefotetan against these multi-resistant, beta-lactamase producing strains may be of clinical value.