EVALUATION OF THE IN-VITRO ACTIVITY OF CEFEPIME COMPARED TO OTHER BROAD-SPECTRUM CEPHALOSPORINS AGAINST CLINICAL ISOLATES FROM 18 BRAZILIANHOSPITALS BY USING THE ETEST

The in vitro activity of cefepime was compared to that of ceftazidime, ceftriaxone, and cefotaxime in a multicenter study involving 10 clini cal microbiology laboratories and clinical isolates from 18 Brazilian hospitals from 7 cities (4 states). A total of 982 isolates consecutiv ely collected between December 1995 and March 1996 were susceptibility tested by using Etest and following the NCCLS procedures for agar dif fusion tests. The cefepime spectrum was broader than that of the other broad-spectrum cephalosporins against both Gram-negative rods and Gra m-positive cocci. Cefepime tons particularly move active against Enter obacter sp. (MIC90, 2 mu g/ml), Serratia sp. (MIC90, 2 mu g/ml) and ox acillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus (MIC90, 3 mu g/ml). Against Pseudomonas aeruginosa, cefepime (MIC90 16 mu g/ml) was slightly more active than ceftazidime (MIC90 32 mu g/ml) and 8- to 16-fold more acti ve than ceftriaxone or cefotaxime (MIC90 >256 mu g/ml). Our results sh ow that nosocomial bacteria, especially Gram-negative rods, have a hig h rate of cephalosporin resistance in Brazil. However, part of these r esistant bacteria remains susceptible to cefepime. The Etest was shown to be an excellent method for multicenter studies of the in vitro eva luation of new antimicrobial agents. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Inc.