Pharmacokinetic, bacteriological and clinical studies with a new cephem, cefepime in respiratory tract infection

Pharmacokinetic, bacteriological and clinical studies were performed with cefepime (CFPM), a new i. v. cephem, yielding the following results. 1) CFPM was administered (by intravenous drip infusion 2 g b. i. d. for 5 days) to 6 healthy male volunteers to study its safety and pharmacokinetics. No abnormalities were observed in symptoms, signs or laboratory tests. There was little variation in serum levels between day 1 and day 5, nor any tendency to accumulation. 2) The in vitro antibacterial activity of CFPM against clinical isolates of 14 species was studied and compared with that of other antibiotics. As shown by MICs, CFPM was more active against Gram-positive bacteria than ceftazidime (CAZ) As for Gram-negative bacteria, CFPM was more active than CAZ, except against Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Branhamella catarrhalis. 3) We administered CFPM to 9 patients with respiratory.tract infections at a dose of 1-2 g twice a day for 6-13 days. The clinical efficacy were excellent in 1 case, good in 4 cases, fair in 1 case and poor in 3 cases. No side effects were observed. From laboratory investigation eosinophilia was noted in 1 case and a slight elevation of GOT, GPT, Al-P and LAP was noted in 1 case.