Experimental efficacy and pharmacokinetic properties of cefpiramide, a new cephalosporin.

The in vivo therapeutic efficacy of cefpiramide was investigated and compared with that of cefoperazone. Cefpiramide was more potent than cefoperazone against infections produced by both beta-lactamase-producing and non-beta-lactamase-producing S. aureus. The protective activity of cefpiramide against experimental infections with selected members of Enterobacteriaceae was lower than that of cefoperazone. Against carbenicillin-resistant P. aeruginosa infections, cefpiramide was as active as gentamicin and aztreonam and three times more potent than cefoperazone, cefotaxime and piperacillin. The pharmacokinetic properties of cefpiramide in mice and rats were superior to those of cefotaxime and cefoperazone. The peak serum concentrations of cefpiramide, administered subcutaneously at a dose of 50 mg/kg, were 76 micrograms/ml in mice and 174 micrograms/ml in rats and the corresponding serum half-lives of cefpiramide were 87 min and 49 min in mice and rats respectively.