Imipenem/cilastatin as secondary therapy for bacterial infections.

Imipenem/cilastatin (IPM/CS) was used to treat 39 documented infections in patients who had failed to respond to other antibiotic regimens. The overall response rating was 76.9%. Respiratory infections responded less frequently (efficacy rating, 55.6%) to IPM/CS than abdominal infections, urinary tract infections, or sepsis. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, Xanthomonas maltophilia, and Acinetobacter calcoaceticus were less sensitive to IPM/CS therapy than the other bacterial strains encountered. Respiratory tract infections were though to be less responsive to IPM/CS, probably because imipenem-resistant strains of S aureus were present in most of those cases. It is concluded that IPM/CS is well tolerated and effective in the treatment of various bacterial infections.