Severe gram-negative infections in neutropenic children cured by imipenem/cilastatin in combination with an aminoglycoside.

Nine severe Gram-negative septicaemias in neutropenic (less than 500 neutrophils/mm3) children with neoplastic diseases were treated with imipenem/cilastatin (75 mg/kg/day) in combination with an aminoglycoside. The bacterial strains (Pseudomonas aeruginosa 7, P. putida 1, Enterobacter cloacae 1) were resistant to penicillins and cephalosporins, or were isolated during treatment with a broad-spectrum penicillin to which the bacterial strain was sensitive in vitro. The mean duration of neutropenia was 18.5 (3-51) days and duration of treatment 20 (8-51) days. Pyrexia was controlled in 2.8 (1-10) days and eradication of the pathogen from blood in one day. No clinical and biological adverse reaction was observed. These results show imipenem/cilastatin to be an effective treatment of infections in severely immunocompromised patients.