[Therapy with an antibiotic combination mezlocillin/oxacillin and clinical experience/Second communication: Children (author's transl)]

Abstract

Almost all infections of newborn have to be treated with antibiotics before the result of microbiological examination is available since there are either difficulties in identifying the causative organisms(s) or antibiotic treatment must be instituted without delay in view of the patient's life threatening condition. The present paper reports on the therapeutic results obtained in association with the multicentre study of 51 children affected by bacterial infections. 17 (33.0%) patients were newborn up to one week of age. 12 patients were classified as premature babies, some presenting a high degree of immaturity. Treatment with Optocillin (Bay 1-1330), a combination of 6-((R)-2-[3-Methylsulfonyl-2-oxo-imidazolidine-1-carboxamido]-2-phenyl-acetamido)-penicillanic acid sodium salt (mezlocillin, Baypen) and 5-methyl-3-phenyl-4-isoxazolyl-penicillin (oxacillin, Stapenor), proved effective in 90% of the children, although 22 patients had been treated with other antibiotics prior to the use of this compound. An average daily dose of about 225 mg/kg bodyweight was found to be effective and perfectly tolerated even on long-term treatment, as became evident from two cases of extremely premature babies effected by neonatal septicaemia (duration of treatment 38 and 34 days, respectively). The combination showed a perfect local tolerance, exanthema appearing only in one infant.