ANTIBACTERIAL ACTIVITY OF CEFPROZIL IN-VITRO

Cefprozil is a new orally active cephalosporin which is undergoing in vitro and in vivo evaluations. Using the standard agar dilution method we compared the in vitro activity of this drug with other oral cephal osporins and ciprofloxacin against 637 recent clinical isolates from t he Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital, Taiwan. Against Escherichia co li and Klebsiella pneumoniae, cefprozil showed good activity, inhibiti ng over 80% of these isolates at 8 mg/l. Like other oral drugs of its class, it had little activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Acine tobacter spp. Against Haemophilus influenzae, irrespective of beta-lac tamase production, its activity was similar to comparable drugs. Again st methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus, cefprozil showed hig h activity, inhibiting 90% of these isolates at 4 mg/l, whereas agains t methicillin-resistant S. aureus, its activity was higher than that o f other oral cephalosporins tested and was similar to that of ciproflo xacin. Of enterococci tested, 57.7% were inhibited by 8 mg/l of cefpro zil. Against beta-hemolytic streptococci, its activity was superior to all other drags tested. The results of this in vitro study indicate t hat oral administration of cefprozil might be efficacious in the treat ment of community-acquired cutaneous, respiratory and urinary tract in fections.