In vitro activity of ticarcillin plus clavulanic acid against 632 clinical isolates.

A total of 632 clinical bacterial isolates were tested for susceptibility to twofold dilutions of ticarcillin alone and in combination with 1, 2, and 4 micrograms of clavulanic acid (CA) (Timentin) per ml by a reference microdilution method. With the addition of CA, ticarcillin MICs were reduced eightfold or greater with 54 of 59 (92%) strains of the family Enterobacteriaceae with ticarcillin MICs of greater than or equal to 64 micrograms/ml. The inhibitory effect of CA on pseudomonads was minimal. Ticarcillin MICs for beta-lactamase-producing Haemophilus influenzae, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, and most Staphylococcus aureus were reduced to less than or equal to 0.5 micrograms/ml when CA was added. For dilution susceptibility testing of ticarcillin-clavulanic acid, dilutions of ticarcillin combined with 2 micrograms of CA per ml is suggested.