The activity and beta-lactamase stability of cefotetan compared to other beta-lactam antibiotics

The in vitro activity of cefotetan was assessed against beta-lactamase producing clinical isolates. The majority of Enterobacteriaceae were inhibited by less than or equal to 8 micrograms/ml with 50% of isolates inhibited by less than or equal to 1 microgram/ml. Cefotetan inhibited organisms resistant to cefazolin, cefonicid and cefoperazone, but not isolates of Enterobacter, Citrobacter or Serratia resistant to ceftizoxime. Cefotetan inhibited beta-lactamase producing Haemophilus influenzae and Neisseria gonorrhoeae at less than or equal to 1 microgram/ml, but it did not inhibit Acinetobacter or Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Cefotetan was as active as cefoxitin against anaerobic species such as Bacteroides fragilis and Clostridium. Cefotetan was not hydrolyzed by Richmond-Sykes plasmid beta-lactamases of type III such as TEM and SHV, nor by the OXA or PSE beta-lactamases. It also was not hydrolyzed by cephalosporinases of Richmond-Sykes type Ia or Id. Cefotetan inhibited beta-lactamases of the type Ia and Id, but it also induced these beta-lactamases in P. aeruginosa, E. cloacae and C. freundii.