[Clinical experience of cefotaxime (author's transl)]

Seventeen septicaemia, 18 urinary tract infections, 13 acute bacterial pulmonary infections and 7 infections at various other site were treated with cefotaxime, and, in 48 cases, with cefotaxime alone. The pathogenic organisms were mainly enterobacteria: 19 E. coli, 10 Klebsiella, 8 Proteus, 2 Serratia, 1 Enterobacter, almost all of them having a MIC less than or equal to 1 mcg/ml. The route of administration used was the i.m. route in 33 cases and the i.v. route in 18 cases, both routes having been used in 4 patients. The mean dosage was 45 mg/kg/day. A cure was obtained in 49 cases were clinical and bacteriological results were interpretable (85,7% of cases). The cure rate was 80% in septicaemia, 88,2% in urinary infections and 91,6% in pulmonary infections. In 19 infections due to beta-lactamase producing strains of Gram-negative bacteria, the percentage of cure was 68,4%. The systemic and local tolerance was excellent. Cefotaxime is a very well tolerated and very effective antibiotic, even in prolonged treatment and even in monotherapy, at a mean dosage of 50 mg/kg/day.