Clinical evaluation of ceftriaxone.

Seventy-seven patients with acute bacterial infections were treated with ceftriaxone (1 gm administered intravenously every 12 hours). The 58 patients evaluable for efficacy had 60 infections, including 39 of the respiratory tract, 14 of the urinary tract, and seven of soft tissue. Five patients were bacteremic. The mean duration of ceftriaxone treatment was eight days for patients with respiratory and urinary tract infections and 13 days for patients with other types of infections. A satisfactory clinical response occurred in 56 (93%) of the infections. Eighty-four (94%) of the 89 pretherapy pathogens were bacteriologically eradicated. Included were all 19 isolates of Haemophilus influenzae, all 15 of Streptococcus pneumoniae, all 12 of Escherichia coli, 22 of the 23 isolates of other Enterobacteriaceae species, three of five isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and three of four isolates of Staphylococcus aureus. Two cases of superinfection (one with bacteremia) occurred with P aeruginosa. There were two cases each of reinfection and colonization with Streptococcus faecalis. One patient developed manifestations of culture-documented S pneumoniae meningitis eight hours after the first dose was administered. Peak and trough plasma levels of ceftriaxone were 142 and 64 micrograms/ml. Ceftriaxone achieved therapeutic levels in infected cerebrospinal fluid and in the abscess fluid of selected patients. Adverse effects, which were mild, included diarrhea in 4% of the patients and elevated transaminase levels in 10%.