Empiric therapy for cancer patients: comparative study of ticarcillin-tobramycin, ticarcillin-cephalothin, and cephalothin-tobramycin.

Three combinations of antibiotics (cephalothin-tobramycin, cephalothin-ticarcillin, and ticarcillin-tobramycin) were administered empirically to 186 patients with cancer who were suspected of having a life-threatening infection. In approximately one-half of these patients, gram-negative infection was documented bacteriologically and consisted of septicemia in 50% of these patients. The three antimicrobial regimens were similarly effective and resulted in a favorable clinical response in approximately 55% of the patients. The administration of the cephalothin-tobramycin combination was associated with a significantly higher frequency of nephrotoxicity than that of the other two regimens.