[Clinical evaluation of cefuzonam in children]

Cefuzonam (L-105, CZON), a new parenteral cephalosporin, was evaluated for its efficacy and safety in 22 children with bacterial infections (Table 1). The results obtained are summarized below. MICs of CZON to 26 strains of isolated organisms are shown in Table 2. MICs to all 14 strains of Haemophilus influenzae and 6 strains of Streptococcus pneumoniae were less than 0.05 microgram/ml. The MIC to 2 strains of Staphylococcus aureus was 0.39 microgram/ml and that to another was 0.78 microgram/ml. Two strains of Escherichia coli showed MICs of less than 0.05 and 0.10 microgram/ml, respectively. The MIC to 1 strain of Enterococcus faecalis was 6.25 micrograms/ml. The CZON was administered in 3 or 4 divided doses at a daily dosage ranging from 58.5 to 85.7 mg/kg by 30-minute drip infusion or intravenous injection to 22 patients (9 cases of pneumonia, 9 cases of tonsillitis, 2 cases of bronchitis, 1 case each of suppurative parotitis and acute pyelonephritis) and the following clinical results were obtained; excellent: 12 cases; good: 7 cases; fair: 3 cases. The overall efficacy rate was 86% (Table 4). Diarrhea was observed in four patients, and was resolved with or without discontinuation of the medication within a week. Anemia was noted in 2 cases. Leucopenia and neutropenia was observed in 1 case. There were a moderate rises in S-GOT and S-GPT activities in 1 patient (Table 4), and they necessitated the cessation of the CZON therapy. The S-GOT and S-GPT activities became normal after the drug treatment was stopped.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)