[Efficacy, tolerance, and pharmacokinetics of sisomicin in urinary tract infections (author's transl)].

Since 1973 30 patients with urinary tract infections (UTI) or pyelonephritis have been treated with sisomicin, a new aminoglycoside, in a daily dose of 2 mg/kg for a period of seven to nine days. From a clinical point of view the result of treatment was good. Complete resolution was achieved in 17 patients, improvement in nine, and there was no effect in four patients. Thirty-five causative organisms (Escherichia coli = 23, Proteus sp. = 7, Klebsiella sp. = 3, Pseudomonas aeruginosa = 1, Citrobacter = 1) were isolated before treatment. Thirty of the organisms were eliminated during treatment, but seven reappeared during the follow-up period; five strains persisted. Side effects observed consisted of reversible increase of serum creatinine in four patients, excretion of granular casts in 14 patients, and a transient rise of alkaline phosphatase, SGOT and/or SGPT in five patients. No signs of ototoxicity or any other adverse reactions were found and local tolerance was good. In 20 patients blood samples for assay were obtained daily one hour after i. m. injection of 1.0 mg/kg. No evidence of drug accumulation in the serum was found: the mean serum concentrations one hour after injection remained between 3.4 and 3,9 microgram/ml during the entire treatment period. Sisomicin is a highly effective antibiotic for the treatment of UTI caused by gramnegative pathogens. On account of its potential toxicity however, it should be used, like other aminoglycosides, only in selected cases.