Worldwide experience with bacampicillin administered twice a day.

The safety and clinical efficacy of dosing twice a day with bacampicillin was evaluated in clinical trials conducted at various locations in Latin America, Switzerland, and Scandinavia, Bacampicillin (200, 400, 600, or 800 mg) given twice a day was compared with bacampicillin (400 mg) or ampicillin (500 or 556 mg) administered three times a day in eight double-blind and six open randomized trials involving 750 patients with respiratory and urinary tract infections. In a noncomparative study, 47 additional patients were treated with 600 mg of bacampicillin twice a day. High rates of clinical cure or improvement were achieved for all types of infections investigated. Microbiologic cure was observed in greater than 90% of respiratory infections due to beta-hemolytic streptococci, Streptococcus pneumoniae, or Hemophilus influenzae. There were no significant differences between the responses of groups treated twice and those treated three times a day. Adverse effects of both regimens of bacampicillin were similar and occurred less frequently than in patients treated with ampicillin. Dosing twice daily with bacampicillin appears to be effective against numerous gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria in a variety of mild clinical infections. Studies comparing identical dosage regimens of bacampicillin and other aminopenicillins are needed to determine whether bacampicillin given twice a day has a therapeutic advantage.