Review of 152 patients with bacteremias treated with amikacin.

The efficacy of amikacin treatment of 152 patients with bacteremia was reviewed from case reports submitted by 53 investigators. Eighty-one per cent of these patients had a favorable outcome; 73% were cured and 8% partially cured. Analysis of the 29 treatment failures revealed that the majority (21) were in patients with either pneumonia, leukemia or mixed aerobic-anaerobic infections. Forty-five patients were infected with gentamicin-resistant organisms; 66% of these patients were cured following amikacin therapy, and 14% had a partial cure. These results indicate that amikacin is effective in the therapy of gram-negative bacteremia, even in seriously ill patients with gentamicin-resistant pathogens.