Ceftibuten: a new orally absorbed cephalosporin. In vitro activity against strains from the United Kingdom.

The in vitro activity of ceftibuten was studied in 572 bacterial strains and was compared with the activity of other orally administered beta-lactams. Ceftibuten displayed high activity against the Enterobacteriaceae, generally being 16-fold more active than cefuroxime, cefaclor, cephalexin, or amoxicillin-clavulanic acid. Its activity was comparable to cefixime. There was little ceftibuten or cefixime activity against staphylococci (MIC90s greater than or equal to 64 micrograms/ml) and reduced activity against Streptococcus pneumoniae (MIC90, 16 micrograms/ml). Haemophilus influenzae and Neisseria spp. were highly susceptible to ceftibuten and cefixime. The protein binding of ceftibuten was 77%, and the primary target site was PBP 3. A high degree of stability to beta-lactamase hydrolysis was observed.