Empirical antimicrobial therapy with Timentin plus amikacin in febrile granulocytopenic cancer patients.

Timentin (ticarcillin plus clavulanic acid) plus amikacin was administered as an empirical regimen to 52 febrile granulocytopenic patients with cancer and appeared as effective as the other commonly recommended combinations of antimicrobial agents. A favourable response was observed in 61% of episodes with bacteraemia and in 83% of the episodes without bacteraemia. However, the efficacy in Gram-positive bacteraemia was suboptimal and the emergence of superinfections caused by Gram-positive cocci may represent a clinical challenge.