Activity of the fourth generation cephalosporin FK-037 against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus under conditions maximizing PBP2' production.

To investigate the in vitro activity of the fourth generation cephalosporin FK-037, MICs were determined for 80 strains of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus from 11 countries. Methicillin and cefamandole served as comparators. The method ensured good expression of PBP2' by use of a large inoculum, salt supplement and incubation for 48 hours at 30 degrees C. FK-037 was twice as active as cefamandole against both strains with high-level and strains with low-level methicillin resistance (geometric mean MICs 23.4 and 10.8 mg/l, respectively).