Asian multicenter trial of cefoperazone in respiratory tract infection

The safety and clinical efficacy of cefoperazone were evaluated in a multicenter trial conducted at institutions in Japan, Korea, and Taiwan. Cefoperazone was given as the sole antibiotic for 481 respiratory tract infections in 476 patients. An overall satisfactory clinical response was achieved in 73.7% of patients. Cefoperazone was effective in 78.9% of cases of pneumonia, 81.1% of acute exacerbations of chronic bronchitis, and 69.4% of bronchiectasis with infection. A satisfactory bacteriological effect was obtained in 93.2% of cases in which Haemophilus influenzae was isolated, 70.2% of Klebsiella infections, and 84.6% of infections with Streptococcus pneumoniae. Although the eradication rate was only 38.6% in patients with Pseudomonas aeruginosa, the success rate increases to 59.1% if patients showing a decrease in the number of organisms are included. Cefoperazone was effective in 63.5% of the 148 cases that had failed to respond to treatment with other antibiotics. Adverse reactions occurred in 8.0% of patients and consisted primarily of rash, diarrhea, and fever. Cefoperazone appears to be an extremely useful injectable antibiotic for the treatment of respiratory tract infections in hospitalized patients.