Clinical and In Vitro Evaluation of Cephapirin, a New Cephalosporin Antibiotic

Abstract

Cephapirin sodium, a cephalosporin for parenteral use, was evaluated in vitro and in 27 patients. Cephapirin had activity equivalent to cephalothin against 25 strains each of Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Proteus mirabilis , and Staphylococcus aureus ; 10 strains each of Diplococcus pneumoniae, Pseudomonas species, and Enterobacter species; and 8 strains of Proteus species other than P. mirabilis . All strains of S. aureus and D. pneumoniae and most strains of E. coli, K. pneumoniae , and Proteus species were inhibited by concentrations of cephapirin achieved in the serum. Of 27 patients (20 with pneumonia, 2 with S. aureus empyema, and 5 with miscellaneous infections), 25 responded to cephapirin therapy. The only major toxicity thought to be drug-related occurred in a patient who developed reversible bone marrow depression with leukopenia, neutropenia, and anemia. Although cephapirin was painful on intramuscular injection, phlebitis and pain were absent in patients treated intravenously. In a controlled comparison of intravenously administered cephalothin and cephapirin in four additional patients, the latter caused much less pain than the former and caused no phlebitis.