Combined clinical and laboratory studies with carbenicillin and ticarcillin: use in infections involving anaerobic bacteria.

Eleven patients with serious infections involving anaerobic bacteria were treated with carbenicillin (four patients) or ticarcillin (seven patients). All patients were cured clinically and bacteriologically of their infections. An in vitro study testing 157 recently isolated anaerobic organisms against 11 antibiotics showed chloramphenicol, carbenicillin, and ticarcillin at blood level concentrations to be inhibitory to more anaerobic strains than the other eight antibiotics tested. Ticarcillin and carbenicillin appear to be safe and effective and deserve further consideration for use in the therapy of anaerobic infections.