Cefodizime, an aminothiazolyl cephalosporin. III. Therapeutic activity against experimentally induced pneumonia in mice.

The activity of the aminothiazolyliminomethoxy cephalosporin cefodizime (HR 221) was compared to that of cefotaxime, cefuroxime and cefazolin in experimental pneumonia caused by Klebsiella pneumoniae DT-S in mice. Cefodizime exhibited high and long-acting levels in the blood and lung homogenates of infected mice; the blood and tissue concentrations obtained with the other cephalosporins tested were low by comparison. In the treatment of experimental Klebsiella pneumonia, cefodizime was superior to cefotaxime and cefuroxime. Counts of the number of viable bacteria present in the infected tissue showed that cefodizime exerted a more marked bactericidal effect than cefotaxime or cefuroxime. Hardly any therapeutic activity was seen with cefazolin.