Amoxicillin and clavulanic acid combination: clinical and laboratory evaluation in pulmonary infections

Twenty-four patients with pulmonary infections (7 pneumoniae, 17 exacerbations of chronic bronchitis) were treated with a combination of 250 mg of amoxicillin and 125 mg of clavulanic acid supplemented by 500 mg of amoxicillin every eight hours. All patients showed good clinical, roentgenological, and bacteriological response. Bacteria were cleared from sputum by the third day of treatment in half of the patients and by the end of treatment in all but one of the others. Pathogens eradicated from sputum, with concurrent clinical cure, included gram-negative bacteria producing cephalosporinases shown to be resistant to the combination drug by both disk and minimal inhibitory concentration determinations.