Moxalactam in the therapy of serious infections.

Sixty-seven patients were treated with moxalactam in a noncomparative trial of hospitalized patients; 32 had endometritis or chorioamnionitis, 12 had skin and soft tissue infections, 5 had osteomyelitis, 5 had pneumonia, 5 had urinary tract infections, 4 had arthritis, 2 had sepsis from an unknown source, 1 had endocarditis, and 1 had peritonitis. Bacteremia was present in 12 of these patients. Patients were given 3 to 12 g of moxalactam per day (mean, 6.24 g/day) in divided doses every 6 to 8 h. Seven patients were given intramuscular treatment for 3 to 20 days for part or all of their therapy. The rest were given intravenous treatment exclusively. Treatment was continued for 2 to 42 days (mean, 10 days). The dose and the duration of therapy were determined by the type of infection and the response of each patient. There were four treatment failures and one enterococcal-clostridial superinfection. Moxalactam was well tolerated. Allergic reactions led to the discontinuation of the antibiotic in three patients. Prolonged prothrombin and partial thromboplastin times were observed in 2 of 11 patients tested; in both instances in patients had severe underlying diseases, including malnutrition and alcoholism. Pain on intramuscular injection was noted in two patients receiving 1,500 mg, but not in five receiving a lower dose; in one case the pain forced the use of intravenous therapy after one dose, and in the other case the pain was mild and the patient was treated for 20 days. We concluded that moxalactam was effective in the treatment of the types of infections included in this study and produced few adverse reactions.