Good quality of antibiotic discs is a fundamental prerequisite to accurate antibiotic susceptibility tests. Capillary electrophoresis (CE) is a widely used method for quantitative analysis. Here, using ceftazidime as an example, we report an easy-to-perform strategy to determine ceftazidime content in discs. First, a serial of ceftazidime standard solutions was prepared to determine the detecti...

Serratia marcescens is a Gram-negative bacterium that is often associated with nosocomial infections. Here we analyzed the resistance mechanism of the ceftazidime-resistant S. marcescens nosocomial strains. The five S. marcescens urinary tract infection-associated isolates were positive for chromosomal ampC and bla(TEM-1). Four of the five strains, ES11, ES31, ES42, and ES46, were single clone ...

A study was performed to determine the effect of parenteral treatment with four broad-spectrum cephalosporins (cefoperazone, ceftriaxone, ceftazidime, and cefepime) on the number of aerobic gram-negative rods and on the outgrowth of Candida albicans and a multiresistant strain of Citrobacter freundii in the feces of mice. The estimated fractions of a parenteral dose that were excreted into the ...

Antimicrobial resistance of isolates and risk factors for mortality were retrospectively investigated in 71 adult patients with Serratia marcescens bacteremia. During the 4-year study period, 78 clinically significant episodes of S. marcescens bacteremia occurred in 71 patients. The mean age of the patients was 65 years (range, 25-86 years) with a male predominance (45 patients, 63%). Most of t...

BACKGROUND Ceftazidime is commonly used as monotherapy of cancer patients with fever and neutropenia. Concern, however, has been raised regarding potential for drug resistance due to its widespread use. Meropenem is a new carbapenem with more extended antibacterial spectrum including anaerobes. It provides better coverage against gram positives. Hence, it may offer an advantage over ceftazidime...

Enterobacter cloacae infections have been shown clinically to respond less reliably to monotherapy with broad-spectrum cephalosporins than was initially expected. Selection of populations producing high levels of beta-lactamase has been shown to be the most frequent reason for treatment failure, and the use of these agents with another active antibiotic is recommended. In this study, E. cloacae...

Two ceftazidime-resistant variants of Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA-48, PA-60), obtained from cardiac vegetations of rabbits with endocarditis receiving ceftazidime therapy, were studied for mechanisms of resistance. Both resistant variants were stably derepressed for the type Id beta-lactamase, which was ceftazidime inducible in the parental strain (PA-96) used to initially infect the rabbits. Th...

  Background and Objective: Metallo-beta-lactamase (MBL)-mediated resistance is an emerging threat in hospital isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. There is not enough information from Iran regarding the prevalence and the screening methods for such enzymes. The present study was undertaken to detect Metallo betalactamase in strains of P. aeruginosa isolated from burned patien...

Four novel oxapenem compounds (i.e., AM-112, AM-113, AM-114, and AM-115) were investigated for their beta-lactamase inhibitory activity against a panel of isolated class A, C, and D enzymes, which included expanded-spectrum beta-lactamase enzymes (ESBLs). The oxapenems were potent beta-lactamase inhibitors. Activity varied within the group, with AM-113 and AM-114 proving to be the most active c...