[Bronchial diffusion of piperacillin in 18 intensive care patients]

Abstract

Eighteen patients (13 under mechanical ventilation) in an intensive care unit received piperacillin for pneumonia (7 cases) or bronchial infection (11 cases), related to Haemophilus influenzae (7), Streptococcus pneumoniae (4) or miscellaneous pathogens (7) including Staphylococcus, E. coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Proteus mirabilis. Each patient was given 2g piperacillin intravenously every six hours. Concentrations in serum and bronchial secretion samples were assayed by the agar diffusion technique using a susceptible strain of Bacillus subtilis ATCC 6633. Maximum concentrations were 157 micrograms/ml in serum and 3.60 micrograms/ml in bronchial secretions. These results are similar to those obtained with the same dosage by 0. Cars in serum (150 micrograms/ml) and by G.E. Marlin in the bronchial secretions (3.78 micrograms/ml). They approximate those published for other penicillins with the same dosage.