Timentin versus piperacillin in the treatment of hospitalized patients with urinary tract infections.

The efficacy and safety of Timentin (ticarcillin plus potassium clavulanate) and piperacillin were compared in a clinical trial of 78 hospitalized patients with urinary tract infections. There were 37 evaluable patients in the Timentin-treated group and 39 in the piperacillin-treated group. The 43 infection sites in each group were primarily complicated pyelonephritis or complicated cystitis; six patients in the Timentin-treated group and four in the piperacillin-treated group also had septicaemia. Both ticarcillin (3 g) plus potassium clavulanate (200 mg) and piperacillin (125-200 mg/kg per day) were administered intravenously. The 43 most common pathogens in each treatment group were Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa from the urinary tract and E. coli from the blood. Nine pathogens in the Timentin-treated group and 11 in the piperacillin-treated group were resistant to ticarcillin in vitro. Eradication was achieved for 39 of the 43 (91%) pathogens in the Timentin group, including all six organisms isolated from the blood, and eight (89%) of the ticarcillin-resistant pathogens. In the piperacillin-treated group, 33 of the 43 (77%) pathogens were eradicated, including three of the four blood isolates, but only eight (73%) of the ticarcillin-resistant pathogens. Clinical cure or improvement occurred in 97% of the patients in each group. Mild and transient increases in levels of liver enzymes or eosinophils were reported for 11 patients in the Timentin group and seven in the piperacillin group. In one patient in the Timentin group, a drug-related rash and nausea developed, and treatment was discontinued.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)