Antibacterial Activity of Cefuroxime, a New Cephalosporin Antibiotic, Compared with That of Cephaloridine, Cephalothin, and Cefamandole

Abstract

The in vitro activity of cefuroxime, a new cephalosporin derivative, was compared with that of cephaloridine, cephalothin, and cefamandole against strains of gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria recently isolated from clinical sources. Cefuroxime showed very similar activity to cefamandole against Staphylococcus aureus, Haemophilus influenzae , and most members of the Enterobacteriaceae . It was more active than cefamandole against gonococci, pneumococci, and most streptococci. Increasing the inoculum size appeared to have less effect on the minimum inhibitory concentrations of cefuroxime for gram-negative bacilli than has been found with the other cephalosporin derivatives, and minimum bactericidal concentrations of cefuroxime were only marginally greater than minimum inhibitory concentrations.