title: Possible usefulness of cephem antibiotics with anti-staphylococcal activity for preventing the spread of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.
abstract: The validity of clinical use of cephem antibiotics for preventing the spread of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) was investigated using a methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA) carrying mecA gene. It became evident that drug with anti-staphylococcal activity, such as cefuzonam (CZON) or cefazolin (CEZ), has comparatively low selectivity of high-level methicillin resistant clones (methicillin MIC range from 25 to 800 micrograms/ml) from MSSA carrying mecA gene among cephem antibiotics tested. At concentrations over 1.56 micrograms/ml of both CZON and CEZ, about a 2-3 log10 decrease in viable count was observed. Therefore, it seems that much satisfactory disappearance of bacterial cells can be obtained in cooperation with host defence mechanisms.
authors.affiliation: Biological Research Laboratories, Lederle Ltd., Japan.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hikida
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mori
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yoshida
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yokota
mesh_terms: D002437:Cefazolin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D015296:Ceftizoxime / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000494:pharmacology; D004352:Drug Resistance, Microbial; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D006801:Humans; D007113:Immunity, Innate; D016106:Methicillin Resistance; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000517:prevention & control; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: C049934:cefuzonam; D015296:Ceftizoxime; D002437:Cefazolin