A comparative in vitro study of thienamycin.

The in vitro activity of thienamycin was compared to that of other antibiotics against a large panel of bacteria obtained in blood cultures from cancer patients. This compound was the most active against gram-positive cocci and also proved to be extremely active against the gram-negative bacteria. It was also very active against multi-resistant gram-negative bacilli. Because of its broad spectrum of activity including Pseudomonas spp., thienamycin deserves clinical testing in the future.