[Experimental and clinical evaluation of a new cephamycin antibiotic, cefotetan, in pediatrics].

A series of studies was performed on the use of cefotetan (CTT) in the field of pediatrics. The results that were obtained are described below. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of CTT against strains of E. coli and K. oxytoca that were recently isolated from child patients were found to mostly be 0.78 micrograms/ml or less. Even strains that were highly resistant to the action of ABPC were sensitive to CTT. CTT was administered to pediatric patients by intravenous drip infusion or by one shot intravenous injection, and then the concentration of the drug in the serum was monitored. The same procedures and dosages were employed for CFX and CMZ. In comparison with these 2 antibiotics, CTT showed a higher peak concentration in the serum, and it was retained in the blood for a longer time. The half-life of the CTT serum concentration was 2 hours or more in most of the subjects. When CTT was administered in a dosage of 10 mg/kg by intravenous drip infusion, the drug could still be detected in the serum as long as 12 hours later in some cases. Repeated intravenous drip infusion administration of CTT was not found to result in any accumulation of this antibiotic in the serum. During the 8-hour period following intravenous injection of CTT, about 50 to 80% of the administered dose was found to be excreted in the urine in its active form. During the acute phase of meningitis, intravenously injected (one shot) CTT was found to be transferred to the cerebrospinal fluid in a concentration that was sufficient to kill those bacteria that were sensitive to the action of this antibiotic. It was proven that, following the intravenous injection of CTT, the concentration of this drug in the feces was sufficient to inhibit the growth of Salmonella, Campylobacter, etc. CTT was administered by intravenous drip infusion as therapy to a total of 37 child patients diagnosed as having acute infections; these infections consisted mainly of upper and lower respiratory tract infections, urinary tract infections, intestinal tract infections and suppurative diseases. The dosage of CTT used in the treatment of these diseases ranged almost from 20 to 40 mg/kg/day, given as 2 doses per day (at intervals of 10-12 hours). The efficacy rate of this therapeutic regimen was 97%.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)