In vitro activity of cefpirome: a new fourth generation cephalosporin.

This study was carried out to find the efficacy of Cefpirome in an Indian setting in a tertiary care referral hospital. A total of 516 bacterial isolates from various clinical specimens were tested against cefpirome (Cpo) and compared against the activities of three other cephalosporins, namely cefazolin (Cz), cefuroxime (Cu), and cefotaxime (Ce) as representative of the other three generations. Preliminary testing was done by Kirby Bauer technique. In the gram positive group of organisms (Staphylococcus aureus and coagulase negative staphylococci); 96 strains out of 177 (54.2%) were resistant to Cpo compared to 61.0% for Cz and 72.3% for Cu. In the Enterobacteriaceae group, 66.0% of the isolates were resistant to Cpo compared to 63.2% for Ce; while for Pseudomonas and other non-fermentors, the corresponding figures were 70.7% and 50.0% for Cpo and Ce respectively. The MIC for the strains resistant to Cpo were found to be > 16 mg/L to > 256 mg/L. This study highlights that Cpo did not have superior activity against the organisms isolated in our laboratory. However, since its activity against gram positive and gram negative organisms is comparable to those of Cz and Ce respectively, it may be useful for mixed infections for empirical therapy.