Cefatrizine Activity Compared with That of Other Cephalosporins

Abstract

Cefatrizine, a new orally administered cephalosporin, was tested against 400 clinical isolates. Cefatrizine had excellent activity against gram-positive cocci, inhibiting all except enterococci at minimal inhibitory concentrations below 1 μg/ml. Cefatrizine inhibited the majority of Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Proteus mirabilis , and Salmonella at concentrations below 12.5 μg/ml. Although cefatrizine was not hydrolyzed by many β-lactamases, it did not inhibit a number of strains of Enterobacter, Serratia , or indole-positive Proteus . Cefatrizine was more active than cephalothin or cephalexin against E. coli, Klebsiella, Enterobacter, Citrobacter, Salmonella , and Shigella . Its overall activity was less than that of cefoxitin against strains resistant to cephalothin, but its activity against cephalothin-susceptible strains was equivalent to that of cefamandole.