Sultamicillin in the treatment of urinary tract infections.

An open multicenter study was carried out to evaluate the efficacy and safety of sultamicillin in patients with urinary tract infections or gonococcal urethritis. 1) Sultamicillin (750-2250 mg/day) was administered for 3 d to 196 patients with acute uncomplicated cystitis. The most common dosage regimen was 375 mg three times daily. The results of treatment based on the combination of changes in symptoms, pyuria and bacteriuria were excellent in 66.8%, moderate in 30.6% and poor in 2.6% of cases. Of 203 strains isolated before treatment, 185 (91.1%) were eradicated. The eradication rate for E. coli, the most common pathogen (167 strains), was 92.2%. 2) In total, 368 patients with complicated urinary tract infections were treated with 750-2250 mg/d of sultamicillin for 5 d. The most common dosage regimens were 375 mg three times daily and 750 mg twice daily. The clinical results based on the combination of changes in pyuria and bacteriuria were excellent in 30.4%, moderate in 35.6% and poor in 34.0% of cases. Of 470 strains isolated before treatment, 352 (74.9%) were eradicated. The eradication rate achieved with high beta-lactamase-producing organisms (64.1%) was not significantly different from that achieved with low or non-producers (75.6%). 3) Sultamicillin (750-3000 mg/d) was administered to 367 male patients with gonococcal urethritis for 3 to 7 d. The eradication rate ranged from 92.3% with 750 mg/d to 100% with greater than or equal to 1500 mg/d. The effect of dose was particularly evident with the 27 strains of gonococci that had penicillinase activity.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)