In vitro studies with Sch 21420 and Sch 22591: activity in comparison with six other aminoglycosides and synergy with penicillin against enterococci

Antimicrobial treatment of chronic osteomyelitis

Chronic osteomyelitis has been a difficult problem for patients and the treating physicians. Appropriate antibiotic therapy is necessary to arrest osteomyelitis along with adequate surgical therapy. Factors involved in choosing the appropriate antibiotic(s) include infection type, infecting organism, sensitivity results, host factors, and antibiotic characteristics. Initially, antibiotics are chosen on the basis of the organisms that are suspected to be causing the infection. Once the infecting organism(s) is isolated and sensitivities are established, the initial antibiotic(s) may be modified. In selecting specific antibiotics for the treatment of osteomyelitis, the type of infection, current hospital sensitivity resistance patterns, and the risk of adverse reactions must be strongly appraised. Antibiotic classes used in the treatment of osteomyelitis include penicillins, beta-lactamase inhibitors, cephalosporins, other beta-lactams (aztreonam and imipenem), vancomycin, clindamycin, rifampin, aminoglycosides, fluoroquinolones, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, metronidazole, and new investigational agents including teicoplanin, quinupristin/dalfopristin, and oxazolidinones. Traditional treatments have used operative procedures followed by 4 to 6 weeks of parenteral antibiotics. Adjunctive therapy for treating chronic osteomyelitis may be achieved by using beads, spacers, or coated implants to deliver local antibiotic therapy and/or by using hyperbaric oxygen therapy (once per day for 90-120 minutes at two to three atmospheres at 100% oxygen).

Temporal variation in nephrotoxicity of low doses of isepamicin in rats

The temporal variation in the nephrotoxicity of low doses of isepamicin was studied in male Sprague-Dawley rats treated with a single daily intraperitoneal injection of saline (NaCl, 0.9%) or isepamicin (80 mg/kg of body weight) at either 0800, 1400, 2000, or 0200 h for 4 and 10 days. On day 10, the cellular regeneration (incorporation of [3H] thymidine into DNA of renal cortex) and cortical accumulation of isepamicin were significantly higher in animals treated at 1400 h than at 0200 h (P < 0.01). Immunogold labeling studies showed that isepamicin was essentially localized in the lysosomes of proximal tubular cells in all treated groups, but the density of the gold particles over the lysosomes was higher in animals treated at 1400 than at 0200 h. The results of the present study show that the renal toxicity of isepamicin was maximal at 1400 h (midlight period) and minimal at 0200 h (middark period).

The place of tobramycin in lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI)

The Author provides a review of clinical experience with tobramycin as therapy for lower respiratory tract infections, in comparison to other aminoglycosides, including the pharmacokinetics and toxicity, dwelling on oto- and nephrotoxicity. The article includes a discussion of various dosing regimens of the aminoglycosides, focussing on efficacy and toxicity arising from once-daily administration. The Author then provides a more detailed description of tobramycin's pharmacokinetics, indications for its use, and the possibilities of once-daily dosing, concluding that toxicity is favorably influenced by a single daily administration as well as efficacy, and that patient compliance and reduced hospital costs are other advantages of this regimen.

Antibiotics for pneumonia therapy

When treating any infectious disease, a physician selects an antimicrobial based on the following considerations: the in vitro activity of the drug, its pharmacokinetic properties, the efficacy data based on properly designed and conducted clinical trials, and finally the adverse effects. In this article, all of these factors, with the exception of adverse effects, were discussed. It was neither my intent nor my purpose to deal with side effects or adverse drug reactions because these are well covered in standard texts or physician references such as the Physicians' Desk Reference and the American Hospital Formulary Service (United States) and the Compendium of Pharmaceuticals and Specialties (Canada).

Antimicrobial activity of isepamicin (SCH21420, 1-N-HAPA gentamicin B) combinations with cefotaxime, ceftazidime, ceftriaxone, ciprofloxacin, imipenem, mezlocillin and piperacillin tested against gentamicin-resistant and susceptible gram-negative bacilli and enterococci

Isepamicin, formerly SCH21420 or 1-N-HAPA gentamicin B, is an aminoglycoside that was tested alone or in combination with one of seven broad spectrum drugs against 80 clinical isolates. Half of the strains were gentamicin-resistant but only one isolate (1.3%) was resistant to isepamicin. The broadest spectrum comparison drugs tested alone (ciprofloxacin at 3.8% resistance and imipenem at 5.0% resistance) were associated with the lowest synergy rates when combined with isepamicin. The rank order of synergy (complete or partial) was; cefotaxime = ceftazidime = ceftriaxone = mezlocillin = piperacillin (75% to 80%) greater than imipenem (66%) greater than ciprofloxacin (38%). Isepamicin/ampicillin combinations produced synergistic killing of those enterococci not having high-grade resistance to gentamicin or kanamycin. Enterococcus faecium strains were also refractory to isepamicin/ampicillin synergy. Isepamicin appears to be widely useable against gentamicin-resistant gram-negative bacilli either alone or combined with most commonly used broad spectrum beta-lactams.

Netilmicin. A review of its antibacterial activity, pharmacokinetic properties and therapeutic use

Netilmicin is a semisynthetic aminoglycoside derived from sisomicin. It is active against most Gram-negative and some Gram-positive bacteria, including many gentamicin-resistant strains. Netilmicin has proved to be effective in Gram-negative infections of the urinary tract, skin and skin structure, and lower respiratory tract, as well as in intra-abdominal infections, septicaemia and other miscellaneous infections. In some trials, the more easily implemented once daily administration of netilmicin has been as effective as multiple dosing regimens. However, further investigation is required to confirm that efficacy and safety are not compromised with once daily administration. Comparative studies have generally revealed similar clinical and bacteriological efficacies between netilmicin and gentamicin, amikacin or tobramycin. As with other aminoglycosides, the principal adverse effects of netilmicin are nephrotoxicity and ototoxicity. Although animal studies strongly suggest that these are less common with netilmicin than with related drugs, there appears to be no difference in their incidence in clinical use; in clinical trials the incidence of nephrotoxicity and ototoxicity has been low, with the symptoms in many cases being minor and reversible. Netilmicin is, therefore, an effective antibacterial drug for the parenteral treatment of severe infections, offering theoretical advantages in safety which may indicate its use for patients believed to be at risk of adverse effects.

Evaluation of the combination effects of ampicillin or vancomycin combined with streptomycin, gentamicin, tobramycin or netilmicin against enterococci

Seven strains of Streptococcus faecalis, of which two possessed high-level resistance to streptomycin (MIC greater than or equal to 2000 mcg/ml), and two strains of Streptococcus faecium were evaluated with respect to killing-effect and duration of post-antibiotic effect (PAE) of ampicillin and vancomycin in combination with streptomycin, gentamicin, tobramycin and netilmicin. No synergistic combination effects were seen with the two strains highly-resistant to streptomycin or with the two Streptococcus faecium strains to netilmicin and tobramycin. When these strains were excluded, no significant difference in average killing could be detected between the four aminoglycosides. The mean prolongation in recovery period of susceptible strains was significantly longer with combinations of ampicillin and netilmicin or streptomycin as compared with either gentamicin or tobramycin. A similar relationship was seen for combinations of vancomycin with the four aminoglycosides.

Aminoglycoside antibiotics in clinical use

Aminoglycosides are among the most used antibiotics despite competitive pressure from newer beta-lactam agents. The activity profile, pharmacology, toxicity potential, and methods of toxicity prevention of aminoglycosides are well appreciated after three decades. Nephrotoxicity, ototoxicity, and the added costs of drug level monitoring limit wider usage, but great activity against highly antibiotic resistant gram negative bacteria often outweigh these disadvantages and will likely keep aminoglycosides available for the foreseeable future.

Netilmicin: new approach to treating gonorrhoea

Resistance and side effects to antibiotics or other chemotherapeutic agents are the main limiting factors in the treatment of gonorrhoea. As no such side effects have been reported with a new aminoglycoside, netilmicin, the therapeutic efficiency of this substance was evaluated in 1200 patients (690 women, 510 men) with uncomplicated gonorrhoea, who each received a single dose of 300 mg netilmicin by intramuscular injection. Efficacy of treatment was assessed by smear microscopy and culture, which gave results in all 1200 patients. No serious side effects were reported. These results indicate that netilmicin is an extraordinarily safe and efficient agent for treating uncomplicated gonorrhoea.

Aminoglycoside antibiotics in infectious diseases. An overview

This article presents an overview of the aminoglycoside antibiotics used in clinical practice. Facts concerning the discovery and properties of the aminoglycosides are followed by information about spectrums of activity and mechanisms of action and resistance. Individual compounds are compared and proposals on the possibilities for their clinical use, both as single drugs and in combination with beta-lactam antibiotics, are made. The importance placed on measuring the serum concentrations of aminoglycoside antibiotics should serve as a remainder that this procedure is important, on one hand, to increase clinical efficacy and, on the other, to reduce the side effects of these antibiotics. Finally, the aminoglycosides are compared briefly with other antibacterial compounds, some of which are very new. There is no doubt that in the future the aminoglycosides will continue to occupy an important place in the treatment of severe infections, although newly developed agents appear to be effective complements.

Sisomicin, netilmicin and dibekacin. A review of their antibacterial activity and therapeutic use

Sisomicin is a naturally occurring aminoglycoside antibiotic produced by Micromonospora inyoensis, while dibekacin and netilmicin are both semisynthetic aminoglycosides. Dibekacin is 3',4'-dideoxykanamycin B and netilmicin is 1-N-ethyl sisomicin. In both cases, these modifications render the agents insusceptible to some of the enzymes found in resistant strains of bacteria which inactivate the parent compounds. Antibacterial activity: All 3 drugs show bactericidal activity against a wide range of Gram-negative bacteria (including E. coli, Enterobacter, Klebsiella and Proteus spp. and Ps. aeruginosa) and also against staphylococci; however, in common with other amino-glycosides, streptococci are usually resistant (except when beta-lactam antibiotics are used in combination) and anaerobic organisms are not sensitive. Sisomicin is closely related structurally to gentamicin Cla, but in vitro studies have shown it to have superior activity to gentamicin against Ps. aeruginosa, closely paralleling the activity of tobramycin, while still possessing the high activity of gentamicin against Serratia and other Gram-negative rods. However, sisomicin is inactivated by virtually all bacterial enzymes which inactivate gentamicin and tobramycin. Nevertheless, it retains useful activity against a number of gentamicin-resistant strains of Ps. aeruginosa which are resistant by non-enzymatic (possibly permeability barrier) mechanisms; in this respect it closely resembles tobramycin. Dibekacin closely resembles tobramycin structurally and in vitro it seems to have a very similar antibacterial spectrum, including activity against some strains of Ps. aeruginosa resistant to gentamicin. Netilmicin has a generally broader antibacterial spectrum than gentamicin, tobramycin, sisomicin or debekacin and is resistant to inactivation by phosphorylating and adenylylating enzymes; however, it is inactivated by all acetylases, apart from acetylase 3-I. Its spectrum is therefore not as wide as that of amikacin against 'gentamicin-resistant' strains. Nonetheless, it is intrinsically more active than amikacin, weight-for-weight, against sensitive strains, apart possibly from Ps. aeruginosa. In fact, its activity against species of the Enterobacteriaceae and staphylococci sensitive to gentamicin is of the same order as the latter and possibly better for Klebsiella-Enterobacter species. All 3 agents show marked antibacterial synergy with a variety of beta-lactam antibiotics against a range of bacteria. Pharmacokinetically, sisomicin, netilmicin and dibekacin all behave like gentamicin. All 3 drugs are excreted in the urine unchanged and have beta-phase elimination half-lives of around 2 to

The pharmacology of aminoglycosides: II. Distinctions among the agents

The first paper in this series dealt with the similarities among the aminocyclitol agents. In the following discussion, we will emphasize the differences among the commercially available aminoglycosides, highlighting the pharmacokinetic and toxicologic data affecting their rational use.

In vitro studies with Win 42122-2: comparison with gentamicin, netilmicin, and amikacin

The in vitro activity of Win 42122-2 against gram-negative clinical isolates was compared in serial twofold broth dilution tests with gentamicin, netilmicin, and amikacin. Against 173 gentamicin-susceptible Enterobacteriaceae, the activity of Win 42122-2 was generally twofold less than those of gentamicin or netilmicin and similar to that of amikacin. Against 60 gentamicin-susceptible nonfermentative gram-negative bacilli, including P. aeruginosa, the activity of Win 42122-2 was four- to eightfold less than that of gentamicin or netilmicin and two- to fourfold less than that of amikacin. Minimal bacterial concentrations for Win 42122-2 were usually similar to minimal inhibitory concentrations. Win 42122-2 was not highly active against gentamicin-resistant bacteria. Win 42122-2 was as active as gentamicin against Mycobacterium tuberculosis but was less active than gentamicin or amikacin against atypical mycobacteria. Win 42122-2 interacted synergistically with penicillin G against enterococci, including strains highly resistant to streptomycin.

Interpretive standards for disk susceptibility tests with Sch 21420 and amikacin

Disk susceptibility tests with two structurally related aminoglycosides (amikacin and Sch 21420) were evaluated. Tests with 10- and 30-micrograms amikacin disks confirmed previous recommendations for interpretive zone standards; 30-micrograms disks are preferred. Tests with 10-, 20-, and 30-micrograms Sch 21420 disks led to similar conclusions. The 30-micrograms Sch 21420 disks are recommended, with zone standards of less than or equal to 14 mm for the resistant category (minimal inhibitory concentration, greater than or equal to 32 micrograms/ml) and greater than or equal to 17 mm for the susceptible category (minimal inhibitory concentration, less than or equal to 16 micrograms/ml). If a minimal inhibitory concentration breakpoint of less than or equal to 8 micrograms/ml is preferred for defining the susceptible category, somewhat different zone standards may be used (less than or equal to 15 mm and greater than or equal to 19mm). Further evaluation documented the fact that tests with 30-micrograms amikacin disks predicted resistance or susceptibility to Sch 21420 almost as well as did a 30-micrograms Sch 21420 disk. Thus, the class concept of disk testing was judged to applicable, and routine testing with Sch 21420 may not be required.

Comparison of in vitro activity of Sch 21420, a gentamicin B derivative, with those of amikacin, gentamicin, netilmicin, sisomicin, and tobramycin

Sch 21420 is a new aminoglycoside synthesized from gentamicin B. Susceptibility tests with Sch 21420, amikacin, gentamicin, netilmicin, sisomicin, and tobramycin were performed on a variety of bacterial species including 44 with known mechanisms of resistance to aminoglycosides. Sch 21420 and amikacin had similar effects on all except Haemophilus influenzae and Neisseria species, which were more susceptible to amikacin. Except with some strains of Serratia marcescens, the drugs used were bactericidal. Sch 21420 and amikacin were more stable than the other four aminoglycosides in the presence of the inactivating enzymes produced by some strains. Strains which were very resistant to Sch 21420 and emikacin either were permeability mutants or produced AAC (6')-I inactivating enzyme. The effect of cations on the susceptibilities of these strains to Sch 21420 and amikacin was seen mostly with Pseudomonas aeruginosa and to Sch 21420 with Acinetobacter. Cations did not affect the susceptibilities of other Pseudomonas species, Enterobacteriaceae, Staphylococcus aureus, or Streptococcus faecalis to Sch 21420 or amikacin.

Comparative nephrotoxicity of SCH 21420 and amikacin in rats

The nephrotoxic potentials of the new aminoglycoside SCH 21420 and amikacin were compared in a rat model. Groups of rats received 100, 200, 300, or 600 mg of either drug per kg per day for 14 days. Enzymuria, urine osmolality, protein excretion, and blood urea nitrogen were monitored at periodic intervals, whereas creatinine clearance and pathological changes were determined at sacrifice. Amikacin caused more enzymuria at the two lower doses as well as greater proteinuria and blood urea nitrogen elevations at the highest dose than did SCH 21420 (P less than 0.05). Pathological changes were more severe with amikacin than with SCH 21420 at the three lower doses (P less than 0.05); however, at the 600 mg/kg per day dose, the pathological scores and creatinine clearances of animals receiving either drug were not significantly different (P greater than 0.05).

Comparison of 5-episisomicin (Sch 22591), gentamicin, sisomicin, and tobramycin in treatment of experimental Pseudomonas infections in mice

Sch 22591 (5-episisomicin), gentamicin, sisomicin, and tobramycin were compared for their ability to protect mice from lethal intraperitoneal challenge with 12 Pseudomonas strains, all susceptible to each of the aminoglycosides (minimal inhibitory concentrations and minimal bactericidal concentrations were </=6.2 mug/ml). Median 50% protective doses were 5.8, 6.4, 7.7, and 17.8 mg/kg for Sch 22591, tobramycin, sisomicin, and gentamicin, respectively. Those for Sch 22591 were significantly lower than gentamicin in five protection tests and significantly lower than both gentamicin and tobramycin in one test. Microbial analysis of the therapeutic effect indicated that protection from lethality by each of the four aminoglycosides was associated with either a complete eradication or a reduction in the number of challenge bacteria in both the heart blood and peritoneum. In rare instances, challenge isolates exhibiting decreased susceptibility to one or more of the aminoglycosides were recovered from animals. However, this in vivo selection of resistance did not appear related to either the aminoglycoside used in therapy or the outcome of therapy, and resistant isolates were recovered as frequently from untreated animals as from those receiving one of the four aminoglycosides.