Sulbactam/ampicillin in the treatment of lower respiratory infections.

The increasing number of beta-lactam antibiotic-resistant infections has led to the development of an alternative treatment: the combination of a beta-lactam antibiotic with an irreversible, suicide-type, beta-lactamase inhibitor. Such a combination, sulbactam/ampicillin, was used in clinical trials at 4 European and 1 American centres to treat severely ill patients with lower respiratory tract infections including bronchiectasis, pneumonia and purulent tracheobronchitis. The sulbactam/ampicillin combination was assessed for safety, efficacy and tolerance in a total of 91 patients. Investigators from all 5 centres reported satisfactory bacteriological and clinical results. The combination agent either cured or improved the condition of virtually all patients who were evaluated. The few side effects reported mainly involved pain at the injection site. A review of these studies indicates that therapy with sulbactam/ampicillin effectively treats lower respiratory tract infections in severely ill patients without causing serious adverse reactions.