Determination of in vitro susceptibility of Mycobacterium tuberculosis to cephalosporins by radiometric and conventional methods.

Among eight cephalosporins and cephamycins tested in preliminary in vitro screening against Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the most promising for further study was found to be ceforanide, followed by ceftizoxime, cephapirin, and cefotaxime. Moxalactam, cefoxitin, cefamandole, and cephalothin were found to be not active enough against M. tuberculosis to be considered for further in vitro studies. The antibacterial activity of various ceforanide concentrations was investigated by three methods: (i) the dynamics of radiometric readings (growth index) in 7H12 broth; (ii) the number of CFU in the same medium; and (iii) the proportion method on 7H11 agar plates. There was a good correlation among the results obtained with these methods. The MIC for most strains ranged from 6.0 to 25.0 micrograms/ml. The BACTEC radiometric method is a reliable, rapid, and convenient method for preliminary screening and determination of the level of antibacterial activity of drugs not commonly used against M. tuberculosis.