[Clinical studies on ceftizoxime in pediatric field (author's transl)].

Clinical studies on ceftizoxime, a new cephalosporin, were carried out in our department. The following results were obtained. 1. Antibacterial activity. Antibacterial activity of ceftizoxime against 7 strains of E. coli, 6 strains of Klebsiella, 6 strains of H. influenzae, 7 strains of E. cloacae and 10 strains of S. aureus, recently isolated from patients, was compared with that of cefotiam, cefmetazole and cefazolin. Ceftizoxime was more active than the other antibiotics against E. coli, Klebsiella, H. influenzae and E. cloacae, but less active against S. aureus. 2. Urinary excretion. Urinary excretion was measured in 2 cases with normal renal function after dosing with 750 mg (35 mg/kg) and 350 mg (17 mg/kg) of ceftizoxime by intravenous injections. Urinary recovery rates within 6 hours were 97% and 82% respectively. 3. Clinical study. Eighteen children with the following bacterial infections were treated with ceftizoxime; respiratory tract infection (13), acute otitis media (1), acute intervertebral chondritis and tonsillitis (1), chronic cystitis (1), subcutaneous abscess (1) and chronic bacteremia (1). The dosage was 69--147 mg/kg q.i.d. by intravenous injection. The duration of administration was from 3 to 32 days. The clinical results were excellent in 4 cases, good in 13 cases and fair in 1 case of chronic bacteremia. The overall effectiveness rate was 94%. Slight elevation of GPT in 1 case and leukopenia (neutropenia) in 1 case were observed, but returned to the normal range immediately after discontinuation of dosing. It is considered that ceftizoxime is one of the useful first choice antibiotics used for children with bacterial infections.