[Prophylactic and therapeutic action of ceftazidime in comparison to that of cefotaxime and combined use of cefotaxime with other antibiotics in experimental plague of albino mice].

In a model of experimental plague of albino mice the prophylactic and therapeutic action of ceftazidime by comparison with that of cefotaxime and the combined action of cefotaxime with other antibiotics were studied. The studies showed that the drugs had a high prophylactic and therapeutic action when used in doses of 200 to 400 mg/kg (ceftazidime) and 400 to 800 mg/kg (cefotaxime). The survival of the animals amounted to 80-100 per cent. The therapeutic effect was defined by the drug dose and the treatment term. When the treatment term was decreased to 3 days, ceftazidime proved to be more advantageous than cefotaxime. When the antibiotic dose was insufficient, the treatment efficacy was shown to depend on the infective dose. The use of cefotaxime in combination with aminoglycosides (gentamicin or sisomicin), rifampicin or doxycycline significantly increased the percentage of the animal survival in comparison to the use of the drugs alone and promoted a rapid elimination of the pathogens in the animals. The combined use of cefotaxime and gentamicin or sisomicin as well as cefotaxime and rifampicin had a synergistic action.