Susceptibility of clinical isolates of Enterobacteriaceae to BL-S640, a new oral cephalosporin.

The in vitro activity of BL-S640, a 7-(2-aryl-2-aminoacetamido)-3-(heterocyclic-thiomethyl) cephalosporin, was evaluated against 338 clinical isolates of Enterobacteriaceae in comparison with ampicillin, cephalothin, cefazolin, and cephalexin. Against Escherichia coli, BL-S640 was as active as cefazolin and more active than ampicillin, cephalothin, and cephalexin. BL-S640 was as effective as the other cephalosporins tested and far more active than ampicillin against Klebsiella and was more active than cephalexin against Proteus mirabilis and the indole-positive Proteus. The majority of Enterobacter, Serratia, and Citrobacter were resistant to ampicillin and all the cephalosporins tested. With rare exceptions, the zone of inhibition by the BL-S640 30-mug disk was either larger or the same as the zone obtained by the cephalothin 30-mug disk in the Kirby-Bauer disk susceptibility test.