title: [Cefmetazole in the treatment of bacterial infections in the newborn (author's transl)].
abstract: Clinical evaluation of cefmetazole were made in the treatment of bacterial infections in the newborn infants and the following results were obtained. 1) Five infants, 7 approximately 58 days of age, received a single intravenous one-shot injection of 22.2 approximately 24.5 mg/kg dose of cefmetazole, and blood concentrations were determined. The average level was 62.6 micrograms/ml (30 minutes), 46.3 micrograms/ml (1 hour), 26.8 micrograms/ml (2 hours), 8.7 micrograms/ml (4 hours) and 2.4 micrograms/ml (6 hours), and T 1/2 was 87.7 minutes. Almost similar values were obtained when the drug was given by a 30-minute drip infusion and sufficiently exceeded the MIC to the bacteria to which cefmetazole was indicated. 2) In two patients, who had been operated for choledochal cyst and received an intravenous drip infusion of the drug, the persistence of the blood concentration was remarkably long, T 1/2 being 192 and 222 minutes, respectively. This problem still remains to be elucidated. 3) The following 22 patients were treated with an intravenous one-shot or drip infusion of cefmetazole, i.e., 45.6 to 107.1 mg/kg divided in 2 approximately 3 doses; 14 patients aged 1 to 21 days, 2 aged 1 to less than 2 months, 3 aged 2 to less than 3 months and 3 aged older than 3 months. However, in purulent meningitis, larger dose was given intravenously 6 times daily. Diseases included sepsis (4 cases), purulent meningitis (3), peritonitis (1) SSS syndrome (3), subcutaneous abscess (2), urinary tract infection (8) and Salmonella enteritis (1), and their causative organisms were E. coli (13 strains), K. pneumoniae (1), S. typhimurium (1), S. aureus (6) and group B Streptococcus (1). Overall efficacy rate in 22 cases was 90.9%. i.e., excellent in 11, good in 9 and failure in 2. Two cases of failure were a patient with peritonitis and visceral eventration due to umbilical hernia and a patient with a chromosomal aberration and urinary tract infection caused by E. coli. Reasons for such a treatment failure appeared to reside in host factors. 4) Adverse reactions included each one case of skin rash and diaper rash, 3 cases of eosinophilia and 5 cases of elevation of transaminase levels, all of which were mild and transient. 5) Based on the above results, cefmetazole is considered to be a potent new antibiotic which should be indicated as the first choice drug in the treatment of neonatal bacterial infections. The recommended dosage is as follows: 50 mg/kg given intravenously 6 times daily for bacterial meningitis and 20 approximately 25 mg/kg intravenously or by a drip infusion 2 to 3 times daily for other infections.
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology; D015311:Cefmetazole; D002511:Cephalosporins / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D002513:Cephamycins / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004341:Drug Evaluation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007232:Infant, Newborn, Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy*; D007263:Infusions, Parenteral; D007275:Injections, Intravenous; D008297:Male
chemical_list: D002511:Cephalosporins; D002513:Cephamycins; D015311:Cefmetazole