Mezlocillin in serious surgical infections caused by carbenicillin-resistant bacteria.

Fifty-eight surgical patients suffering from severe bacterial infections caused by mezlocillin-sensitive, carbenicillin and/or gentamicin-resistant bacteria were treated with mezlocillin in 1980. At the end of therapy, the infection had been eliminated in 52 patients; they were cured. The remaining six did not need any additional antibacterial treatment. Sixty-two of the bacterial strains isolated had been eliminated, seven markedly reduced in number and three persisted. No development of resistance or side-effects was observed. A randomized comparative study was conducted at the same time.