Imipenem/cilastatin vs. gentamicin/clindamycin for the treatment of moderate to severe infections in hospitalized patients.

Imipenem/cilastatin was compared with the combination of gentamicin plus clindamycin in terms of efficacy and safety for the treatment of moderate to severe infections in an open, randomized study. The rates of cure achieved with the two regimens were similar. Gentamicin/clindamycin treatment failed only in two of four instances of severe infection. Patients given imipenem/cilastatin seemed to respond more rapidly to treatment; this observation applied both to the entire group treated and to the subgroup with moderate intraabdominal infections. Susceptible etiologic agents were more frequently eradicated by imipenem/cilastatin (95%) than by gentamicin/clindamycin (79%). The most common adverse reactions were nausea or vomiting in patients given imipenem/cilastatin and urinary abnormalities in those given gentamicin/clindamycin. Self-limited diarrhea was observed with equal frequency in the two groups. No adverse reactions required the discontinuation of treatment. Colonization or superinfection with resistant organisms and Pseudomonas aeruginosa occurred significantly more often among patients given gentamicin/clindamycin. These results suggest that imipenem/cilastatin is a promising alternative to the combination of gentamicin and clindamycin for the treatment of moderate to severe infections in hospitalized patients.