Combination antibiotic therapy in staphylococcal endocarditis. The use of methicillin sodium-gentamicin sulfate therapy.

The addition of gentamicin therapy in a case of S aureua endocarditis, in which the response to methicillin therapy alone was unsatisfactory, resulted in clinical improvement, enhanced serum bactericidal activity, and a bacteriologic cure. Gentamicin and methicillin were synergistic in vitro. Since the mortality in staphlococcal endocarditis remains exceedingly high, we suggest that the combination of a cell wall active antibiotic, such as methicillin, and an aminoglycoside may prove to be effective alternate theraphy for this disease.